State Minister Caglayan meets with American Indian leaders

State Minister Zafer Caglayan yesterday met at Istanbul's Foreign Trade Complex with a group of Native American tribal chiefs and representatives visiting under the auspices of the Turkish Coalition of America. "You won't find better partners than Turks for your infrastructure and superstructure projects," he told the visitors. "Turkish firms, contractors and businessmen will show you the most sincere friendship." Shawn Real Bird, the chairman of the Crow Nation Economic Development Commission in the State of Montana, said, "We should present our energy resources not only to the US but also to Turkey. We're here to collaborate." Caglayan suggested that the visit will help improve Turkish-US relations and that Turkey wants want to be in contact with the Native American community. Saying that that US isn't made up of Washington and New York alone, Caglayan added, "Turkey is the 48th-largest exporter to the US, the world's largest importer. The six states you live in play an important role in American trade and are valued by us. We're working on strategic, economic and commercial cooperation."