U.S.-Turkey Investment Partnership Summit showcases the ATC’s evolution

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U.S.-Turkey Investment Partnership Summit showcases the ATC’s evolution

On February 24, 2016, the American-Turkish Council (ATC) hosted the U.S.-Turkey Investment Partnership Summit at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, DC. The Summit drew over 115 attendees, including private sector leaders and government representatives from both sides of the bilateral relationship in an action-packed day that featured five dynamic roundtable discussions; the limited release of the ATC report titled Restart and Renewal: Taking U.S.-Turkish Trade to $50 Billion by 2025; a formal Luncheon with remarks by Director of the United States Trade and Development Association (USTDA), Leocadia Zak; and an elegant Networking Reception. The Summit was sponsored by Pratt & Whitney, Turkish Airlines, Baker Donelson, Herrick, Feinstein LLP, International Paper/Olmuksan, and Netasat.
ATC Chairman, Gen. James Jones and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), Michael Lally opened the Summit with remarks about the importance of the U.S.-Turkey commercial relationship. Jones reiterated the ATC’s position that the U.S.-Turkey commercial relationship facilitates closer ties in defense and diplomacy. Lally expanded on the details of U.S.-Turkey economic relations, praising the progress that was made since the early 2000s, forecasting some of its challenges, prescribing what needs to be done for both sides to grow closer, and noting the importance of the ATC’s work. “I want to thank the ATC,” he said, “for being a vital link between the U.S. and Turkey. Not just in business or diplomacy, but in many people to people connections.”
The Summit then launched into the first roundtable discussion, titled “Why U.S.-Turkey Partnerships? Opportunities and Challenges.” Moderated by Baris Ornarli of TUSIAD, this roundtable discussed the vast improvements made to Turkey’s business climate, the country’s role as a regional leader, and the need to ensure Turkish and U.S.-based companies are compliant with each country’s respective legal systems. Discussants included Baker Donelson’s Doreen Edelman and Alissa Chestler, Haluk Bulucu of FNSS, and Izak Koenka of Ulusal Faktoring AS.
The second roundtable, titled “U.S.-Turkish Partnership in Emerging Sectors: Integrating Turkish Companies into the Global Value Chain,” was moderated by Serkan Elden, Senior Managing Director of Capitalinka, and featured Peter Rashish of the Transnational Strategy Group, Hayal Koc of Expertera, and Tayfun Beyazit of Beyazit Consulting Services. This roundtable discussed Turkey’s potential as a member of the TTIP agreement between the U.S. and the EU, Istanbul’s emergence as a financial center with a good functioning legal system, and why Turkey’s role in the global value chain of the textile industry should be used as a model for other industries.
Former State Department spokesperson, P.J. Crowley, moderated the following roundtable titled “Tapping into the Turkish Market: Understanding Turkey’s Business Ecosystem,” which featured discussants Joshua Walker of APCO, Barbaros Karaahmet of Herrick, Feinstein LLP, and Safak Herdem of Herdem Law Firm. Discussants asserted that in order to increase FDI and keep investments safe, Turkey needs to deal with legal uncertainties and create a more transparent process of rulemaking. Discussants advised that businesses and investors work with lawyers to better understand the legal climates in the U.S. and Turkey so as to avoid unforeseen legal issues.
Leocadia Zak, Director of the USTDA, provided keynote remarks at the Luncheon, stressing the value of trade with Turkey, and the importance of technology that enables urban areas to become “smart” – more efficient, sustainable, and adept in their growth and modernization. She noted that Istanbul is an example of one such “smart city,” and can provide inspiration to other cities looking to develop in a similar way.
The afternoon started with a roundtable titled “Innovative Ideas: Exploring Partnerships in R&D and Tech.” Moderated by Omer Er, founder and managing partner of Middle Bridge Partners, discussants included Dr. Banu Onaral of Drexel University, Navroop Mitter of ArmorText, and TUBITAK’s Director for International Cooperation, Hakan Karatas. The lively conversation focused on how the U.S. and Turkish governments can best facilitate creative innovation among its population. “Capital is going to follow innovation,” argued Mitter. Karatas expounded on the ways in which the Turkish government is incentivizing domestic R&D.
The final roundtable, titled “U.S.-Turkey Partnerships in Third Party Markets: Moving Beyond Geopolitical Challenges,” addressed how Turkey and the U.S. could use each other as a springboard into other regional economies. The roundtable was moderated by Gillian Turner of Jones Group International and Fox News, and featured President of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), Trita Parsi; KRG Representative to the U.S., Bayan Sami Rahman; Alev Gunay of SelectUSA; and Paul Sullivan of the National Defense University. Gunay talked about the benefits of entering the U.S. market place, and how Turkish companies could use their position here to leverage investments around the globe. Istanbul was mentioned as an exceptional centralized location for U.S. companies interested in future investments in northern Iraq, Iran, and elsewhere.
The Summit ended with a Networking Reception where attendees had the opportunity to converse with one another, members of the ATC staff, and the expert panelists. In attendance were members of the U.S.-Turkey Business Council, an initiative established by the U.S. Department of Commerce to bring together senior-level executives from the U.S. and Turkey to provide policy recommendations to both governments on ways to strengthen bilateral economic relations.
The Summit reflected the ATC’s ongoing efforts to convene private and public sector leaders and promote the increasingly dynamic nature of U.S.-Turkey commercial relations. Representatives from multiple sectors including finance, consulting, defense and aerospace, education, law, tech, and energy participated in the day’s events, and came away with a stronger understanding of the unique value the bilateral economic partnership.