WASHINGTON CONFERENCE PROVIDES FORUM FOR US, TURKISH OFFICIALS TO ‘REVIEW’ RELATIONS
ngton-conference-provides-forum-for-us-turkish-off icials-to-review-relations/
Jun 1, 2009
WASHINGTON -Senior Turkish and U.S. officials are meeting in Washington
DC Monday to discuss their countries’ political, defense, and business
relationships during an annual two-day conference designed to boost
cooperation between the two allies. Hosted by the American-Turkish
Council, the annual conference on U.S.-Turkish relations is a forum
for government and military officials, business leaders and academics
to discuss issues and opportunities to boosting the two nations’
political and trade ties. This year’s conference is the 28th meeting
organized by the group and takes place approximately two months after
President Barack Obama’s visit to Turkey.
Top Turkish officials attending conference were Chief of General Staff
General Ilker Basbug and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Basbug will
also meet this week with Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint
Chiefs of Staff, and visit a number of U.S. military facilities. The
two men will be keynote speakers at the ATC’s opening dinner Monday
night. Davutoglu, who was appointed foreign minister by Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a Cabinet reshuffle at the end of April, will
also meet with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton later this
week. Davutoglu will speak at the ATC conference on Tuesday. Egemen
Bagis, the Turkish state minister responsible for European Union
relations, and Transport Minister Binali Yildirim are also attending
the conference. US Democratic Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, will address the conference Tuesday as
well. Obama’s visit aimed to restore the U.S.-Turkish ties that were
damaged during former Republican president George W. Bush’s term,
mainly due to disputes related to the Iraq war. The ATC, whose members
include major U.S. and Turkish companies doing business in each other’s
countries, seeks to boost the two nations’ political and trade ties.