Turalay Kenç: Fostering longstanding relations - opening of the
Bundesbank Representative Office in Istanbul
Speech by Mr Turalay Kenç, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey,
at the Opening Ceremony of the Bundesbank's Representative Office, Istanbul,
26 November 2013.
* * *
Excellency Wolke,
Esteemed Dr. Dombret,
Distinguished Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the outset, allow me to express the pleasure and appreciation of the Central Bank of
Turkey on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Bundesbank's Representative Office
in our beautiful city of İstanbul.
It is a distinct honour for me to have the opportunity to deliver a couple of remarks before
distinguished participants in this historical opening event, as this is the first representative
office in Turkey of a fellow central bank.
First of all, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) is very pleased with the
signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) this year with your esteemed central
bank. This is so, not only because the majority of the Bundesbank policies have been
regarded as gold standards in central banking, but also because the Bundesbank is the
central bank of Germany that is our main trading partner and highest ranking foreign capital
provider.
The MoU agreement manifests the commitment of both institutions to foster long standing
relations. In the spirit of the MoU agreement, a primary step in our cooperation is to establish
high level policy dialogue with the Bundesbank on a regular basis, the first of which will be
held in 2014.
This is timely, considering that not only will Turkey assume the G20 presidency in 2015 and
engage in an even closer interaction with the central banks of the G20 member states, but
will also help meet the recently increased need for policy dialogues over the implementation
and implications of new unconventional monetary policies.
In general, the CBRT places great emphasis on bilateral relations with fellow central banks,
especially those of the G20 member countries. The year 2012 is a testament to our
commitment, as the CBRT opened six new representative offices, which brought the total
number to ten. The first-round representative offices include those in Frankfurt, NY City,
London and Tokyo. The ones opened later on are in Moscow and Sydney - to strengthen
relations with other G20 presidency countries; Beijing and Kuala Lumpur - to strengthen
relations with the Asian countries; Paris - to strengthen relations with the OECD, and finally
Washington, DC - to strengthen relations with the IMF.
In her efforts to enhance regional cooperation, the CBRT laid the foundations of the dialogue
among central banks that paved the way for the establishment of the Central Banks
Governors' Club of Central Asia, the Black Sea Region and the Balkan Countries.
The relations and cooperation of the CBRT in the international scene go well beyond our
bilateral dialogue with your esteemed Bank and cover also the financial level (swap
agreements signed with certain countries), as well as the educational level (the
establishment of an international central banking research facility and regional training
centre, the İstanbul School of Central Banking).
like to thank the Bundesbank for opening a Representative Office in İstanbul, for
I would
signing the MoU agreement and for all the support and assistance you have provided us in
diverse fields and at various platforms.
Closing my remarks, I would like to welcome my friend and colleague, Dr. Andreas Dombret,
a member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, and thank him for his
tremendous efforts in bringing this project to life.
Now let us celebrate our achievements.
Thank you for your attention.