TURKISH TRADE NEWSLETTER

Ms. Sevtap Akgüloğlu took office as Commercial Attaché at the Turkish Trade Mission in Chicago

June 11, 2010
CHICAGO – Ms. Sevtap Akgüloğlu started her post on June 11, 2010 as the Commercial Attaché of the Turkish Trade Mission in Chicago. Ms. Akgüloğlu has been pursuing a bureaucratic career for more than 19 years in the areas of bilateral and multilateral economic and commercial relations, and brings a wealth of experience to her position. She has a BA degree in Economics from Hacettepe University and an MA degree in Economics from Western Michigan University.  She has previously served as the Commercial Attaché of the Consulate General of Turkey in Shanghai where she rapidly developed concrete working relations between Turkey and China to further enhance the economic and commercial ties. 

Ms. Akgüloğlu jump-started her term in office with the Minister of State of Turkey H.E. Zafer Çağlayan’s visit to Chicago, and plans to continue to advance U.S. companies' trade and investment interests in Turkey's emerging markets, advocate for measures to improve conditions for bilateral trade and investment, and work closely with a full range of companies and organizations interested in a commercial relationship between the United States and Turkey.

In her remarks, when assuming her new post, Ms. Akgüloğlu said: “For decades, Turkey and the US have built a relationship, which encompasses trade, defense, economic and financial cooperation. And I sincerely believe that, improving bilateral commercial and economic relations will not only help broaden the fields of cooperation between Turkish and the US companies, but also strengthen the friendship ties between our countries.  Within this framework, I have no doubts that our friendly relations will continue progressively in the future. Turkey has a very strategic location at the crossroad of the civilizations between east and west, and north and south.  Due to its location, Turkey is truly a part of the Black Sea, Balkans, Middle East, East Mediterranean, Central Asia and Caucasus regions.  Although this sounds like a cliché, it still holds true. Hence, the regional perspective of Turkish foreign trade policy remains very important, considering that Turkey bridges different groups of countries with respect to their production patterns, economic and political structures, and different geographies and cultures. 

Turkey's role as a crossroad in its region is best observed not only in trade or transportation corridors, but also in energy issues. Regarding the strategic features of energy, Turkey is located at the epicenter of the "Eurasia", where four regions of the world, namely Europe, the former Soviet Union, Middle East and North Africa, intercept, benefiting from unique business opportunities. Its geo-strategic position makes Turkey a leading energy corridor and a transit center for the main oil and natural gas producers in the Caspian, Caucasus and Central Asia as well as for consumer markets in Europe. On the other hand, Turkish contractors are among the biggest and most influential players in the Middle East, North Africa and Former Soviet Union.

I claim that with the only well-functioning market economy in the region, Turkey is the best possible business partner to the US companies. Furthermore, we have the largest private sector in the region from Italy to China, and Turkish economy is fully integrated into the global economy due to arrangements like Customs Union with the EU, and Free Trade Agreements with a number of countries.

Turkey is increasingly becoming the production and logistics base of Europe, supported by its developed financial sector, production capability and modern infrastructure. Turkey also has a thriving services sector with one of the highest growth rates in Europe. With the 15th largest economy in the world and 6th largest in Europe, it provides a better future for one of the youngest population in Europe.

Keeping in mind that Turkish companies are becoming major players in the global market place, Ms. Akgüloğlu stated that Turkey’s aim is to reach 1 trillion dollars of economy and 200 billion dollars of exports by the year 2012, and 500 billion dollars of exports by 2023, marking the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey.  Noting that in any international study, Turkey is cited as one of the next emerging 10 economies in the world with promising economic indicators, she reiterated that there are tremendous opportunities for Turkey and the United States to take advantage of, and the Office of Commercial Attache of the Consulate General of Turkey in Chicago is determined to take every measure to strengthen the commercial and economic relations between Turkish and Midwest-USA companies and institutions.

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Turkey Signs Historic Agreement with Illinois

July 19, 2010
Chicago - Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade (UFT) of Turkey has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) to advance the economic cooperation between the two governments by forming the UFT-DCEO Business Cooperation Initiative. More than 60 members of the Turkish delegation, led by H.E. Minister Zafer Çağlayan, were in attendance at the signing ceremony.

The object of the initiative is to facilitate trade and strategic business alliances between the two entities through an ongoing exchange of ideas concerning the current business climate and investment opportunities. This is the first Turkish agreement with an individual state in the U.S.
At the signing ceremony on July 19, 2010, Director of DCEO Warren Ribley remarked that “Turkey is where East meets West, a historic crossroads of opportunity and a place where ideas intermingle and grow” and stated that Illinois is pleased to be able to strengthen its ties with a strong partner like Turkey and build Illinois business opportunities by cementing the growing relationship through this agreement. Ribley also noted that they would visit Turkey in September together with representatives of several companies from Illinois State.

H.E. Minister Zafer Caglayan stressed the importance of the Memorandum of Understanding in increasing cooperation in economic relations, and noted that it was time for the strategic cooperation between Turkey and the U.S. to give rise to an economic cooperation, especially developing relationships between small & medium scale enterprises.

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