President Gul addresses finance circles

Delivering a speech at a working breakfast hosted by Merrill Lynch in New York, where he would attend the 68th Session of the UN General Assembly, President Abdullah Gul said that despite being Turkey's greatest ally, the US was not its biggest trading partner. "Indeed, the disparity between Turkish-US strategic relations and economic relations is striking. We have every reason to create incentives for American and Turkish companies in each other's countries. The Turkish economy is proceeding along a steady and cautious route. The engine of bilateral ties is no longer simply Turkey-US strategic, diplomatic, or security cooperation. To keep this relationship as strong as ever, we need to deepen and diversify the areas of cooperation." Gul also had an interview with Fareed Zakaria from the CNN International, which reportedly lasted half an hour. Upon the interview, Gul met yesterday with his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer. Focusing mainly on the Syria crisis, Gul also held a meeting with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the UN, where Gul cited that it was time that the UN took a concrete step for its dignity and credibility towards the crisis in Syria. Turkish President will address the UN General Assembly following a speech to be made by US President Barack Obama on September 24.