Balkan-American business leader urges stronger ties with Turkey

Balkan-Americans want to forge stronger business and trade ties with Turkey, according to Aras Konjhodzic, head of the Federation of Balkan American Associations (FEBA). Turkish investors should consider making investments in the crisis-hit New York real estate market, as prices are at their lowest in 30 years, said Konjhodzic yesterday in Istanbul, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting organized by the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON). Leading a delegation of 85 businessmen, Konjdhodzic said, "A triangle of investment and trade could be established between Turkey, the Balkans and the US." Saying that the US remains the world's largest market, Konjhodzic said many US-based construction companies want construction materials from Turkey. "United we are stronger," he said, adding that Turkey's recent economic growth has encouraged Balkan-Americans to consider investing there. "If Turkey had been that strong economically and politically two decades ago, a lot of tragic things in the Balkans wouldn't have taken place," he added.