IV

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 327

Commending the Republic of Turkey and the State of Israel for the continued

strengthening of their political, economic, cultural, and strategic partnership and for their actions in support of the war on terrorism.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 12, 2002

Mr. WEXLER (for himself, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, and Mr.

FOLEY) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred

to the Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Commending the Republic of Turkey and the State of Israel

for the continued strengthening of their political, economic, cultural, and strategic partnership and for their

actions in support of the war on terrorism.

Whereas the Republic of Turkey has had diplomatic relations

with the State of Israel since 1949;

Whereas until 1979 the Republic of Turkey was the only

Muslim country to recognize the State of Israel;

Whereas in December 1991 the Republic of Turkey began

ambassadorial relations with the State of Israel;

Whereas the Republic of Turkey has made important contributions to the Middle East peace process and has

served as an honest and fair peace broker;
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Whereas the relationship between the Republic of Turkey and

the State of Israel has political, economic, cultural, and

strategic dimensions;

Whereas the Turkish and Israeli people have enjoyed a wide

range of contacts;

Whereas the Republic of Turkey and the State of Israel

began holding annual humanitarian search and rescue exercises with the United States in 1998, with the most recent of such exercises occurring in January 2001;

Whereas nonmilitary mutual trade between the Republic of

Turkey and the State of Israel has grown by more than

800 percent since a free trade agreement was signed in

1996;

Whereas total trade volume between the Republic of Turkey

and the State of Israel exceeded $1,000,000,000 in 2000,

with each country emerging as the other’s leading export

market in the Middle East;

Whereas Turkish and Israeli companies are seeking opportunities to cooperate in joint ventures involving textiles, agriculture, energy, and construction in the newly independent states of Central Asia, particularly in Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan;

Whereas the Republic of Turkey has constructed a major

water purification and treatment plant and has offered to

export a considerable volume of water to the State of

Israel;

Whereas Turkish and Israeli universities are engaged in robust academic exchanges, including endowed chairs, visiting professors and students, and frequent joint seminars;
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Whereas more than 250,000 Israeli tourists have visited the

Republic of Turkey annually since the mid–1990s and

the number of Turkish visitors to the State of Israel has

been steadily increasing;

Whereas the Turkish and Israeli people have provided crucial

domestic support for the development of close cooperation

between the governments of the 2 countries;

Whereas the partnership between the Republic of Turkey and

the State of Israel has been strengthened by successive

democratic governments in both countries;

Whereas security cooperation between the Republic of Turkey

and the State of Israel has improved dramatically in recent years;

Whereas the Republic of Turkey, the State of Israel, and the

United States conducted their first trilateral air exercise

in June 2001;

Whereas the trilateral air exercise was staged in the Republic

of Turkey and was the first time the Israeli Air Force

had participated in military exercises in foreign air space;

Whereas the bilateral relationship between the Republic of

Turkey and the State of Israel represents a mature and

stable partnership which has already had a profound impact on the political, economic, cultural, and strategic environment in the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East,

and Central Asia;

Whereas the Republic of Turkey and the State of Israel have

strongly supported the war on terrorism;

Whereas the Republic of Turkey and the State of Israel have

suffered greatly from terrorism during the last half century;
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Whereas the Republic of Turkey was the first Muslim country to authorize the use of troops to support Operation

Enduring Freedom;

Whereas the Republic of Turkey and the State of Israel have

pledged to assist the United States and the international

community in rebuilding Afghanistan;

Whereas the Republic of Turkey has authorized the deployment of peacekeepers to Afghanistan who will be responsible for forming and training the first Afghani national

security forces; and

Whereas the Republic of Turkey and the State of Israel have

had a political, economic, cultural, and strategic partnership with the United States for the last half century:

Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That Congress—

3 (1) commends the Republic of Turkey and the

4 State of Israel for the continued strengthening of

5 their political, economic, cultural, and strategic part6 nership;

7 (2) recognizes the importance of the cooperative

8 relationship between the Republic of Turkey and the

9 State of Israel as a positive example of the kind of

10 ties between countries of differing cultures and reli11 gions without which a just and lasting peace in the

12 Middle East will never be achieved;

13 (3) calls upon the other countries in the Middle

14 East to follow the example set by the Republic of
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1 Turkey and the State of Israel in the interest of pro2 moting regional cooperation and peace;

3 (4) commends the Republic of Turkey and the

4 State of Israel for their actions in support of the

5 war on terrorism;

6 (5) encourages increased political, economic,

7 cultural, and military cooperation between the

8 United States, the Republic of Turkey, and the

9 State of Israel; and

10 (6) reaffirms the political, economic, cultural,

11 and strategic partnership between the United States,

12 the Republic of Turkey, and the State of Israel.

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