Last month I attended the 20th Annual American Turkish Council meeting in Washington. I am pleased to let you know that, despite the current economic crisis here, the conference was well attended and many Americans expressed their belief that Turkey continued to represent a tremendous opportunity for future commercial growth, especially in energy, telecommunications, defense and service industries. In addition, Turkey's location at the crossroads of the trading routes of Europe and Asia makes this country a gateway for business to many countries including the Newly Independent States of the Caucasus and Central Asia. At the American Turkish Council, many people including U.S. Commerce Secretary, Donald L. Evans, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz, White House Chief of Staff , Andrew Card and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, W. Robert Pearson, spoke of the friendship between the United States and Turkey and the importance of Turkey to the U.S. and the region. Whether you are discussing issues such as Middle East Peace or the continued problems in the Balkans, Turkey is at the center of any possible solution.
Turkey is also an important trading partner with the United States.
In 2000, trade between the two countries was nearly 7 billion dollars. Turkey will certainly play a major role in energy distribution in the near future. The United States believes that trade between Turkey and the U.S. will continue expanding in years to come. Despite recent economic problems, the Turkish economy has a history of growth and reform. Turkey is now focused on building a strong new national economic program to deal with the problems of the current financial crisis.