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Daily Sabah, Turkey
May 17 2014
TURKEY IN NEED OF MORE FRIENDS IN WASHINGTON
Ragıp Soylu
WAHSINGTON, D.C. ' During a recent visit by Deputy Prime Minister Ali
Babacan and Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekçi to Washington, D.C., it
was common to hear experts say that Ankara should pay more attention
to the U.S. congress rather than just focusing on the executive
branch.
In part this sentiment stems from the fact that Turkey has officially
declared it would like to join the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP) agreement between the EU and U.S., which is still
being negotiated.
On Wednesday, Babacan and Zeybekçi, who is a former businessman
himself, attended the third meeting of the U.S.-Turkey Framework for
Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation at the Department of
Commerce, alongside U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and
Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.
Zeybekçi was very optimistic about the future of TTIP talks and
assured journalists that the U.S., as a partner and ally, would not
allow Turkey to be excluded from the agreement. "We are here to
generate a formula to prevent any such development," he added during a
joint press conference.
Experts emphasize that even though Turkey will likely be included in
the TTIP, it is the congress, which is at odds with the Turkish
government over a range of issues involving the Cypriot and Armenian
problems, which will make the final decision about Turkey's
participation. "In order to expand the Turkish-American economic
relationship, Turkey needs more friends in the United States. Although
the Obama administration has supported Turkey and believes deeply in
the model partnership, Turkey needs more friends, not just the
American government. You need to get congressional approval for free
trade agreements. You need friends from businesses and all the other
stakeholders. It is not enough just having these
government-to-government contacts. Turkey should use her business
organizations more to reach congress as well," said Jose W. Fernandez,
Former U.S.Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and
Business Affairs at a Brookings Institute's panel on Turkey's
inclusion to TTIP.
Turkey has taken some steps in some areas to gain the good will and
blessings of the congress. Kemal KiriÅ?çi, Brookings' director of
Turkey project, stated that the escalation of Cyprus negotiations and
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an's historic condolences to
Armenians regarding the 1915 incidents would have a positive impact on
members of the congress, allowing them to be able to defend Turkey's
participation in the TTIP, despite lobbying on the part of Armenian
and Greek constituents. He stressed that Turkish businesses were aware
of the fact that the Turkish-American economic relationship has proven
beneficial and suggested that they can bridge the gap between congress
and Turkey.
http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2014/05/17/turkey-in-need-of-more-friends-in-washington
May 17 2014
TURKEY IN NEED OF MORE FRIENDS IN WASHINGTON
Ragıp Soylu
WAHSINGTON, D.C. ' During a recent visit by Deputy Prime Minister Ali
Babacan and Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekçi to Washington, D.C., it
was common to hear experts say that Ankara should pay more attention
to the U.S. congress rather than just focusing on the executive
branch.
In part this sentiment stems from the fact that Turkey has officially
declared it would like to join the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP) agreement between the EU and U.S., which is still
being negotiated.
On Wednesday, Babacan and Zeybekçi, who is a former businessman
himself, attended the third meeting of the U.S.-Turkey Framework for
Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation at the Department of
Commerce, alongside U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and
Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker.
Zeybekçi was very optimistic about the future of TTIP talks and
assured journalists that the U.S., as a partner and ally, would not
allow Turkey to be excluded from the agreement. "We are here to
generate a formula to prevent any such development," he added during a
joint press conference.
Experts emphasize that even though Turkey will likely be included in
the TTIP, it is the congress, which is at odds with the Turkish
government over a range of issues involving the Cypriot and Armenian
problems, which will make the final decision about Turkey's
participation. "In order to expand the Turkish-American economic
relationship, Turkey needs more friends in the United States. Although
the Obama administration has supported Turkey and believes deeply in
the model partnership, Turkey needs more friends, not just the
American government. You need to get congressional approval for free
trade agreements. You need friends from businesses and all the other
stakeholders. It is not enough just having these
government-to-government contacts. Turkey should use her business
organizations more to reach congress as well," said Jose W. Fernandez,
Former U.S.Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and
Business Affairs at a Brookings Institute's panel on Turkey's
inclusion to TTIP.
Turkey has taken some steps in some areas to gain the good will and
blessings of the congress. Kemal KiriÅ?çi, Brookings' director of
Turkey project, stated that the escalation of Cyprus negotiations and
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an's historic condolences to
Armenians regarding the 1915 incidents would have a positive impact on
members of the congress, allowing them to be able to defend Turkey's
participation in the TTIP, despite lobbying on the part of Armenian
and Greek constituents. He stressed that Turkish businesses were aware
of the fact that the Turkish-American economic relationship has proven
beneficial and suggested that they can bridge the gap between congress
and Turkey.
http://www.dailysabah.com/politics/2014/05/17/turkey-in-need-of-more-friends-in-washington