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Defense News.com
Nov 15 2014
Politics Pushing French Comeback to Turkish Market
Nov. 15, 2014 - 03:45AM
By BURAK EGE BEKDIL
ANKARA -- In the early 2000s, French manufacturers, once big players on
the Turkish market, were "red-listed" by Ankara in retaliation for a
French parliamentary resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide of
1915-1919.
French industry unsuccessfully sought deals when the Turkish boycott
disappeared after a decade, but now they may be in position to make a
comeback as Ankara and Paris have rediscovered their political
alliance.
Officials and analysts said the crisis in Syria has brought together
French and Turkish interests and inaugurated successful cooperation
over Turkey's civil war-torn neighbor.
"This is the best times in bilateral relations in decades," a senior
Turkish diplomat said. "France is one of our best allies over the
Syrian crisis."
A French diplomat in Ankara said French and Turkish interests over
Syria's future converge almost entirely.
"We have common goals and common policies to end the bloodshed in
Syria," he said. "Presidents [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and [François]
Hollande have an excellent channel of dialogue over Syria."
In recent months, when the radical Islamic State group captured large
swaths of land in Syria and Iraq, Turkey has been accused by its
Western allies for being an unreliable coalition partner in the fight
against the jihadists.
But the French government has taken a softer approach and said it
understood Ankara's delicate position and expressed sympathy. Also,
while a US-led group of Western allies said the priority in Syria
should be to finish off the Islamic State, Turkey and France argued
that the real enemy is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
In France, the change of government two years ago removed the pursuit
by then-President Nicolas Sarkozy to enact a law widely seen as
anti-Turkey. Sarkozy, who pushed hard for a law that would have made a
denial of genocide of Armenians a criminal offense, was seen as
seeking the vote of 50,000 Armenians in France ahead of a general
election. He also opposed Turkey joining the European Union.
Hollande ushered in a fresh foreign policy with Ankara.
Hollande's state visit to Turkey last January, the first French
presidential visit to Ankara in 22 years, saw top-level political and
defense talks with an emphasis on a controversial Turkish contract in
which a French-European bidder finished second.
Hollande and Erdogan met in Paris on Oct. 31 to discuss the Syrian
crisis, but Turkish sources said they also discussed potential defense
cooperation in general, and the multibillion dollar Turkish program
for the country's first long-range air and anti-missile defense system
in particular. Foreign ministers from both countries had already met
in Paris on Oct. 10 and drafted a two-year road map of bilateral ties.
Although Turkey since September 2013 has been in negotiations with a
Chinese contender for the contract, Erdogan said in August that
parallel talks had opened with the French manufacturer.
Turkey selected China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corp. (CPMIEC)
for the program for $3.4 billion and announced that the French-led
European group Eurosam, maker of the SAMP/T Aster 30, came in second.
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, with their Patriot-based system,
finished third. Eurosam's shareholders include MBDA -- jointly owned by
British BAE Systems, Italy's Finmeccanica and Airbus -- and France's
Thales.
The way for a French comeback had been paved during Hollande's January
visit to Turkey, according to officials and analysts. During that
visit, the French delegation consisted of 90 representatives from 60
defense companies and five trade associations specializing in
aerospace and defense (GIFAS), naval defense (GICAN), land armaments
(GICAT), the National Aerospace Research Center (ONERA) and the
Aerospace Valley cluster.
Turkey's defense procurement office, SSM, and its French counterpart,
DGA, organized a Turkish-French Industry Day in Ankara. SaSaD, an
umbrella organization for Turkish defense industry, and GIFAS signed a
memorandum of understanding for bilateral cooperation.
Also in January, Turkey and France vowed to increase their bilateral
trade to EURO 20 billion (US $24.9 billion) annually. France is one of the
top foreign direct investors in Turkey, and the two countries have
been working together on the Turkish satellite (Gokturk).
"That breakthrough [Hollande's January visit] was significantly
augmented after Erdogan found his best political ally over Syria. This
will obviously have repercussions on procurement decisions," a senior
Turkish official said.
Erdogan, who has declared the downfall of Assad as one of his top
policy goals in the Middle East, is widely believed to have influence
over major procurement decisions.
"It is not a secret that the Turkish government cannot select partners
in large-scale programs without Erdogan's consent. He runs an almost
one-man show in procurement," one senior company executive said.
An Ankara-based analyst said that "Hollande was on his way to becoming
Erdogan's new Berlusconi," a reference to the extremely friendly
relations between Erdogan and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi in the early and mid-2000s, when Italian arms makers won
almost every major Turkish contract.
The newfound alliance between Ankara and Paris, and friendship between
Erdogan and Hollande, will affect Turkey's final decision on the
missile defense program and potentially on other procurement
decisions, the analyst said.
"As long as France remains a staunch Turkish ally, especially over
Turkey's priority policy goals like the downfall of Assad, French
companies will have a political advantage over their rivals in Turkish
contests, most notably in aerospace and naval programs," he said.
http://www.defensenews.com/article/20141115/DEFREG01/311150036/Politics-Pushing-French-Comeback-Turkish-Market
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Nov 15 2014
Politics Pushing French Comeback to Turkish Market
Nov. 15, 2014 - 03:45AM
By BURAK EGE BEKDIL
ANKARA -- In the early 2000s, French manufacturers, once big players on
the Turkish market, were "red-listed" by Ankara in retaliation for a
French parliamentary resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide of
1915-1919.
French industry unsuccessfully sought deals when the Turkish boycott
disappeared after a decade, but now they may be in position to make a
comeback as Ankara and Paris have rediscovered their political
alliance.
Officials and analysts said the crisis in Syria has brought together
French and Turkish interests and inaugurated successful cooperation
over Turkey's civil war-torn neighbor.
"This is the best times in bilateral relations in decades," a senior
Turkish diplomat said. "France is one of our best allies over the
Syrian crisis."
A French diplomat in Ankara said French and Turkish interests over
Syria's future converge almost entirely.
"We have common goals and common policies to end the bloodshed in
Syria," he said. "Presidents [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan and [François]
Hollande have an excellent channel of dialogue over Syria."
In recent months, when the radical Islamic State group captured large
swaths of land in Syria and Iraq, Turkey has been accused by its
Western allies for being an unreliable coalition partner in the fight
against the jihadists.
But the French government has taken a softer approach and said it
understood Ankara's delicate position and expressed sympathy. Also,
while a US-led group of Western allies said the priority in Syria
should be to finish off the Islamic State, Turkey and France argued
that the real enemy is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
In France, the change of government two years ago removed the pursuit
by then-President Nicolas Sarkozy to enact a law widely seen as
anti-Turkey. Sarkozy, who pushed hard for a law that would have made a
denial of genocide of Armenians a criminal offense, was seen as
seeking the vote of 50,000 Armenians in France ahead of a general
election. He also opposed Turkey joining the European Union.
Hollande ushered in a fresh foreign policy with Ankara.
Hollande's state visit to Turkey last January, the first French
presidential visit to Ankara in 22 years, saw top-level political and
defense talks with an emphasis on a controversial Turkish contract in
which a French-European bidder finished second.
Hollande and Erdogan met in Paris on Oct. 31 to discuss the Syrian
crisis, but Turkish sources said they also discussed potential defense
cooperation in general, and the multibillion dollar Turkish program
for the country's first long-range air and anti-missile defense system
in particular. Foreign ministers from both countries had already met
in Paris on Oct. 10 and drafted a two-year road map of bilateral ties.
Although Turkey since September 2013 has been in negotiations with a
Chinese contender for the contract, Erdogan said in August that
parallel talks had opened with the French manufacturer.
Turkey selected China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corp. (CPMIEC)
for the program for $3.4 billion and announced that the French-led
European group Eurosam, maker of the SAMP/T Aster 30, came in second.
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, with their Patriot-based system,
finished third. Eurosam's shareholders include MBDA -- jointly owned by
British BAE Systems, Italy's Finmeccanica and Airbus -- and France's
Thales.
The way for a French comeback had been paved during Hollande's January
visit to Turkey, according to officials and analysts. During that
visit, the French delegation consisted of 90 representatives from 60
defense companies and five trade associations specializing in
aerospace and defense (GIFAS), naval defense (GICAN), land armaments
(GICAT), the National Aerospace Research Center (ONERA) and the
Aerospace Valley cluster.
Turkey's defense procurement office, SSM, and its French counterpart,
DGA, organized a Turkish-French Industry Day in Ankara. SaSaD, an
umbrella organization for Turkish defense industry, and GIFAS signed a
memorandum of understanding for bilateral cooperation.
Also in January, Turkey and France vowed to increase their bilateral
trade to EURO 20 billion (US $24.9 billion) annually. France is one of the
top foreign direct investors in Turkey, and the two countries have
been working together on the Turkish satellite (Gokturk).
"That breakthrough [Hollande's January visit] was significantly
augmented after Erdogan found his best political ally over Syria. This
will obviously have repercussions on procurement decisions," a senior
Turkish official said.
Erdogan, who has declared the downfall of Assad as one of his top
policy goals in the Middle East, is widely believed to have influence
over major procurement decisions.
"It is not a secret that the Turkish government cannot select partners
in large-scale programs without Erdogan's consent. He runs an almost
one-man show in procurement," one senior company executive said.
An Ankara-based analyst said that "Hollande was on his way to becoming
Erdogan's new Berlusconi," a reference to the extremely friendly
relations between Erdogan and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi in the early and mid-2000s, when Italian arms makers won
almost every major Turkish contract.
The newfound alliance between Ankara and Paris, and friendship between
Erdogan and Hollande, will affect Turkey's final decision on the
missile defense program and potentially on other procurement
decisions, the analyst said.
"As long as France remains a staunch Turkish ally, especially over
Turkey's priority policy goals like the downfall of Assad, French
companies will have a political advantage over their rivals in Turkish
contests, most notably in aerospace and naval programs," he said.
http://www.defensenews.com/article/20141115/DEFREG01/311150036/Politics-Pushing-French-Comeback-Turkish-Market
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress