TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu met with the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton in Washington D.C. Informing Clinton about the “Istanbul Forum for Economic Cooperation” involving Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Hisarcıklıoğlu invited Clinton to the meeting of the entrepreneur women from Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan on Wednesday, the 2nd of November.
"/>31.10.2011 / Washington D. C. / USA
TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu met with the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton in Washington D.C. Informing Clinton about the “Istanbul Forum for Economic Cooperation” involving Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Hisarcıklıoğlu invited Clinton to the meeting of the entrepreneur women from Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan on Wednesday, the 2nd of November.
Hisarcıklıoğlu also spoke to Clinton about the Partnership for New Beginnings Summit to be held on the 2nd of November hosted by TOBB.
- Turkey’s transformation process is an example for its neighbors
Speaking at the 30th annual conference held by the DEİK/Turkish American Business Council (TAİK) and Turkish-American Council (ATC), Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the Turkish American relations which have half a century of past behind them, it is important for the financial aspect of these relations to be developed further. Emphasizing that the transformation process Turkey is going through is very important for its neighbors especially with the occurrence of the Arabian Spring.
Hisarcıklıoğlu went on:
“Thirty years ago, when the first ATC Turkey Conference was held, Turkey was a different country. It had an export volume of 3 billion dollars. 90% of that was agricultural goods. However, today Turkey produces automotive, machinery and electronics. Our export volume has exceeded 130 billion dollars. Our goal is to reach an export volume of 500 billion dollars in the next 10 years.”
Touching on the “model partnership” concept announced by the President of the USA, Barack Obama, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “If model partnership is to help Turkey’s transformation process, it must ensure contacts between our entrepreneurs, investors and scientists. It must be accepted that our relations have yet to reach this level.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu stating in his speech that even though Turkey is the 16th largest economy in the world, it only has a 0.2% market share in the USA, that it should take more and that the joint investments between Turkey and the USA are very important.
TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that the support of the USA for Turkey’s EU accession process is very important and requested that the USA also assist with resolving the issue of Cyprus. He also expressed his gratification for the cooperation of the USA in Turkey’s fight against terror and the Van earthquake.
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