Economic ties set to deepen Turkey's strategic partnership with the US

Advanced economic ties will strengthen Turkey and the US' hands in their bid to undertake the role as two major powers who can address economic issues in the region, representatives from the Turkish and US business worlds agreed at a meeting yesterday in Istanbul. Representatives from the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) and Center for American Progress (CAP) met yesterday to discuss economic and political relations between Turkey and the US. The meeting underlined that the importance of a healthy relationship between Turkey and the US has become apparent, particularly during the ongoing unrest in the Middle East, and that economic ties play a key role to this end. Speaking at the meeting, TUSKON head Rizanur Meral said that since the TUSKON-CAP partnership began two years ago, the two organizations have developed and carried out successful projects. "The Turkish economy has gone through a significant transformation over the past decade, with economic and political stability as the major driving force behind this progress," he said, adding that Turkey's rising power in its region will benefit its partners, too. US Consul General Scott Kilner praised the "impressive" performance of the Turkish economy amid the world economic crisis and called on US businesses to take advantage of Turkey's trustworthy investment atmosphere. Sarah Wartell, CAP's deputy chair, said the US government shares CAP's goal of forging deeper economic ties with such fast-emerging markets as Turkey. "We need to make sure dialogue continues on both the political and economic fronts, and TUSKON has a very important role in this," said Brian Katsalis, responsible for CAP's national security and foreign policies.