Turkey, US eye stronger trade ties

Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Caglayan on Wednesday said Turkish and US entrepreneurs could cooperate in joint investments in relatively less developed markets in Third World countries. Speaking at a meeting co-hosted by the American-Turkish Council (ATC) and the Turkish-American Business Council (TAIK) in Washington, Caglayan said during his talks with US officials that he had mentioned the need to increase mutual investments and also carry such cooperation outside of both countries. “A high-level US State Department official told us that Turkey offers great opportunities to US businesspeople in the renewable energy, tourism and finance sectors,” Caglayan said, adding that US companies could use Turkey as their door to a fast-emerging region. He said companies from Turkey and the US could cooperate with each other in third countries and make joint investments in the fields of chemicals, automobiles, electronics, machinery and construction. “We aim to establish new cooperation between the world’s biggest importer, the United States, and a regional power, Turkey. I hope our mutual trade with the US is balanced, sustainable and maintains a sustainable increase,” Caglayan said. Recalling that the parties had signed the Framework for Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation in December, he said this and other similar deals would help Turkish-US economic.