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  • Armenian Business Organization Joins UBCCE

    Armenian Business Organization Joins UBCCE

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    Contact: Abdullah Akyuz
    E-mail: usoffice@tusiad.us
    Phone: 202-776-7770

    TUSIAD-US: Armenian Business Organization Joins UBCCE, a Regional Confederation Initiated by TUSIAD

    The US Office of the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) has issued the following statement with regard to the cooperation of business associations from Turkey and Armenia as well as other countries in the region:

    “The Second General Assembly of the Union of Black Sea and Caspian Confederation of Enterprises (UBCCE) was held in Istanbul on March 2, 2009.  UBCCE is the first independent and voluntary business organization of the Black Sea and Caspian Region and was set up under the leadership of TUSIAD in 2006.

    The General Assembly approved the membership requests of the Union of Manufacturers and Businessmen of Armenia (UMBA), the Georgian Entrepreneurs Confederation (GEC), the Iraqi Businessmen Union (IBMU), the Confederation of Employers of Ukraine (CONFEU) and the Federation of Employers of Ukraine (FEU). With the admission of new organizations, the number of UBCCE members increased from 18 to 22.

    According to the decisions taken during the Second General Assembly, UBCCE Presidency also passed from TUSIAD to the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) for the term 2009 – 2011.  The Azerbaijan Turkey Business Association (ATIB), National Economic Chamber of Kazakhstan (ATAMEKEN Union), Turkish Confederation of Employer Associations
    (TISK) and the Alliance of Romanian Employers’ Confederation (ACPR) were elected as the Vice Presidents in charge of “Regional Economic Integration”, “Business Environment Development”, “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” and “Relations with the European Union and BUSINESSEUROPE” respectively.

    During a ceremony held prior to the General Assembly, UBCCE signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation with the International Congress of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ICIE) and the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation (TURKONFED).

    For more information about UBCCE please visit www.ubcce.org.”

    About TUSIAD and TUSIAD-US

    Founded in 1971, the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) is an independent, non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting public welfare through private enterprise.
    TUSIAD supports independent research and policy discussions on important social and economic issues in Turkey and abroad. Much like the US Business Roundtable, TUSIAD is comprised of the CEOs and Executives of the major industrial and service companies in Turkey, including those that are among global Fortune 500 companies.

    TUSIAD-US opened in November 1998 in Washington, D.C. to enhance ties between the U.S. and Turkey by representing the interests of the Turkish business community within the United States.

  • The Aegean is a new retirement hot-spot

    The Aegean is a new retirement hot-spot

    By Zoe Dare Hall

    12th March 2009

     

    Turkey is featuring prominently in the plans of Britons looking to retire overseas. With falling property prices, a warm and sunny climate and, crucially, no euro, the attractions are obvious.

    One in eight British people over 55 will live abroad by next year, says the Institute for Public Policy Research. But the strength of the euro has made many would-be émigrés wary of old favourites such as the Costa del Sol, while the collapse of the property market in the U.S. has put people off crossing the Atlantic.

    Instead, many people are looking to Turkey’s Mediterranean and Aegean coasts, where the vast majority of the 20,600 British owned properties are located, and where the cost of living is up to 60 per cent cheaper than in the UK.

    Appealing: The ancient harbour at Bodrum, which is lively even out of season

    ‘Turkey is one of the few logical choices for those seeking to balance lifestyle and financial advantage in their retirement,’ says Julian Walker, from the Turkish property specialist Spot Blue.

    ‘The warm climate in the south allows people to spend a healthier life outdoors, and the cost of day-to-day living is significantly cheaper than back home.’

    Stephen Hughes, director at Foreign Currency Direct, has seen a 36 per cent increase in British clients changing their sterling to lira in the past year, most of them pensioners retiring to Turkey.

    ‘The Turkish lira has increased by 6.5 per cent against the pound in the past year, which means that those who changed to lira find their money goes much further than before,’ says Hughes.

    He also believes that house prices have risen by 10-15 per cent in the past 12 months.

    Bodrum is undoubtedly one of the most appealing regions for those with retirement in mind. The countryside is dotted with olive groves and whitewashed houses.

    Its glitzy marinas are lined with boutiques and yachts. And as a lively working town, Bodrum doesn’t shut down as soon as the summer tourists leave. In addition, easyJet is to fly to Bodrum from April 23.

    At Cumberland’s Woodland Regency development, set in pine forests just outside Bodrum, apartments cost from £47,000, and three-bedroom houses from £158,000, with a shared spa, fitness centre and clubhouse on the site.

    In Gundogan, a 15-minute drive from Bodrum, the Seaview Regency Prestige villas are the most striking example of value for money on a sought-after peninsula, with three-storey, three-bedroom villas costing from £175,000.

    Each has indoor/outdoor living rooms that open onto private gardens, a shared pool and a citrus fruit valley leading to the sea.

    Eric Kaya, director of Cumberland Properties, says: ‘There’s no building work in summer because this is where rich and influential Turks have their holiday homes, so it’s protected.’

    Attracted by low prices, Britons have flocked to the Aegean resorts of Altinkum and Didim, where new apartments cost as little as £25,000.

    More attractive and less developed is Dalaman, says Dominic Whiting, author of Buying In Turkey, who singles out The Hills development in Akkaya as among the best.

    The three-bedroom villas near a golf course and marina cost from £149,000 – or apartments from £46,200 – through Curbanoglu Homes.

    On the Mediterranean coast, Place Overseas is seeing interest from retiring Britons in Beycik, where detached, three to four-bedroom houses at Quattro Villas cost from £219,000 off-plan.

    ‘Turkey is not in the euro zone, which makes this an interesting investment for British buyers,’ says Cameron Deggin, UK director of Place Overseas.

    Avoiding the euro zone was part of the appeal for Adam Jacks, 68, and his wife Julia, 59, who moved from Chester to their two-bedroom villa in Ovacik, near Fethiye on the Turkish Riviera, a year ago.

    Mr Jacks says: ‘We combine a good level of living on a pension with a lot of sunshine.

    The Daily Mail

  • WORLD TURKISH ENTREPRENEURS ASSEMBLY

    WORLD TURKISH ENTREPRENEURS ASSEMBLY

    10-11 April, 2009
    Lü    tfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Centre İstanbul, Türkiye
    The Foreign Economic Relations Board is organizing “THE WORLD TURKISH ENTREPRENEURS ASSEMBLY” with the aim of bringing together Turkish businessmen and entrepreneurs living abroad under the scope of a common, effective and institutionalized structure.

    The Convention will be honored with the presence of President of the Turkish Republic Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

    For the first time in the history of the Convention, a General Assembly will held to unite Turkish business associations, foundations and federations abroad, under the umbrella of an institutionalized structure, centered in Turkey. All Turkish businessmen and professionals from abroad will be considered delegates and the delegates will have right to vote and to elected for the administrative organs of the World Turkish Business Council. 7 delegates will be elected for the American Continent.

    How to attend?

    The applications to the Assembly are available online.

    Registration, Program, Attendees, Preliminary Committee, Bilateral Business Meetings and for more information please follow the link: www.kurultay2009.org

    What the Assembly Offers to Attendants?

    2000 Turkish Entrepreneurs and Executives of International Companies and Executive Bureaucrats will meet at the same platform.

    An “INTERACTIVE PLATFORM” where the Ministers of the Cabinet and Turkish entrepreneurs meet     An advantage to take part in the “REGIONAL SESSIONS” covering the region’s main economic agenda for Turkish businessmen, moderated by Ministers of the Cabinet.
    “BILATERAL BUSINESS MEETINGS” to create new job opportunities.

    Please click for the event agenda , invitation letter and invitation flyer

    .———————————————————————

    Turkey is uniting Turkish business associations, foundations and federations abroad under the umbrella of an institutionalized structure centered in Turkey with a move that is widely accepted as a necessary step to increase the efficiency of Turkey’s business opportunities in the world.

    The “World Turkish Business Council” will be created under the supervision of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK). The Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) decided to create this new unit on Jan. 24, 2008 to extend a better hand to Turkish businesses and help them in their operations abroad.

    A general assembly for the council will be established in a two-day meeting on April 10-11 at the Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Center in İstanbul with the participation of President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and all economy-related government ministers.

    DEİK and the Foreign Trade Undersecretary (DTM) are organizing “the World Turkish Entrepreneurs Assembly” with the aim to bring together Turkish businessmen and entrepreneurs living abroad under the scope of a common, effective and institutionalized structure.

    All Turkish businessmen and professionals from abroad will be considered delegates and will have the right to vote and elect the administrative organs of the World Turkish Business Council. Seven delegates will be elected for the American continents alone. Those who wish to attend the assembly meeting will be able to apply online by visiting www.kurultay2009.org. The Web site also presents useful information about the program, attendees, preliminary committee and bilateral business meetings.

    During the assembly meeting, nearly 2,000 Turkish entrepreneurs and executives of international companies and executive bureaucrats will have a chance to meet in a common platform to create and utilize business opportunities.

    The meeting will start with the opening remarks of Muhtar Kent, the CEO and president of the Coca-Cola Company. TOBB Chairman Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu and Foreign Trade Minister Kürşad Tüzmen will deliver speeches prior to Prime Minister Erdoğan taking the podium.

    In the afternoon session of the first day, there will be an interactive panel discussion with the participation of Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister Hayati Yazıcı, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economic Affairs Nazım Ekren, Foreign Trade Minister Tüzmen, Economy Minister Mehmet Şimşek, State Minister Said Yazıcıoğlu, State minister and Chief EU Negotiator Egemen Bağış, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, Finance Minister Kemal Unakıtan, Minister of Labor and Social Security Faruk Çelik, Minister of Industry and Commerce Zafer Çağlayan and Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertuğrul Günay.

    The second day will start with bilateral business talks among participating businessmen. Later in the day, the World Turkish Business Council’s General Assembly elections will be held.
  • What Were Armenian Officials Thinking, If They Were Thinking at all?

    What Were Armenian Officials Thinking, If They Were Thinking at all?

    sassoun@pacbell.net

    Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 4:25 AM


    Two shocking announcements made by Yerevan officials have deeply troubled Armenians worldwide.

    The first statement was made by Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan in Tsakhkadzor, Armenia on February 21, during an international economic forum — “Outlook for International Economic Cooperation: Problems and Solutions.” The conference was attended by high-ranking officials and businessmen from Russia, Bulgaria, Iran and many other countries.

    In his speech titled, “International Economic Cooperation: New Policy,” the Prime Minister invited the participation of Russia and Turkey in the construction of a new nuclear power plant in Armenia. He said that the multi-billion-dollar project had not only economic but also political significance. The existing power plant, located near Yerevan, was commissioned in 1976. Several international organizations as well as neighboring Turkey have been pressing for the closure of the Medzamor power plant for several years, citing safety concerns. The new power plant is expected to be operational in 2016.

    Turkish leaders have not yet responded to Mr. Sargsyan’s invitation. However, according to Russian sources, Ankara is said to be interested. An unidentified Turkish spokesman was quoted by Nezavisimaya Gazeta as stating: “The government of Turkey is anticipating an official appeal on participation in the atomic power plant from Armenian official circles. Only after that, the Turkish side may consider the prospect of participating in the project and announce its decision. If all the issues involved are complied with, Yerevan’s proposal may be accepted.”

    Several Armenian analysts have raised serious concerns about involving Turkey in such a sensitive project. Some pointed out the risk to Armenia’s national security, given Turkey’s historical enmity. Other commentators brought up the total lack of experience of Turkish companies in constructing nuclear power plants. Ara Nranyan, an Armenian parliament member representing the ARF, a junior member of the governing coalition, stated that his party opposes Turkey’s participation in the new nuclear power plant and views it as “damaging to Armenia’s interests.”

    How can Armenian officials offer a role in constructing a nuclear power plant to a country that denies the Genocide, refuses to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia, sets up a blockade to destroy its economy, and provides political and military support to Azerbaijan in the Artsakh (Karabagh) conflict?

    The second disturbing development is an invitation by Armenian officials to Turkey’s Foreign Minister to attend the Black Sea Economic Conference (BSEC) on April 16-17, just days before the 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Armenia’s six-month rotating chairmanship of BSEC ends on April 30.

    Armenians were further irritated by a report in the Turkish newspaper “Today’s Zaman” that “Armenia has rescheduled a foreign ministerial meeting of Black Sea countries, apparently as a goodwill gesture to ensure Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babajan will be among the participants.” Zaman reported that Armenian authorities had moved the date of the BSEC meeting “from the previously announced April 29 to April 16. The shift is significant because April 29 is only a few days after April 24.”

    To add insult to injury, Zaman quoted unnamed Turkish officials as stating that Babajan has not confirmed his attendance, and that his participation depended on “Armenia’s commitment to the ongoing rapprochement process and the course of closed-door talks with Armenia.”

    Turkish officials make frequent statements about “rapprochement” with Armenia in order to give the false impression that the two countries are reconciling with each other, thus hoping that the Obama administration and the U.S. Congress would not take any action on the Armenian Genocide.

    While Ankara officials are constantly bombarding Washington with such fake messages, the Armenian side stays astonishingly silent, giving credence to Turkish misrepresentations which are intended to undermine the prospects of any U.S. declaration on the Armenian Genocide.

    In a rare display of responsiveness, Tigran Balayan, the acting spokesman of the Armenian Foreign Ministry, issued a statement denying that the BSEC conference was rescheduled to accommodate Turkish concerns. Mr. Balayan, however, provided no explanation as to why the conference was not held before the month of April.

    It is hard to believe that the Armenian government would invite the Turkish Foreign Minister to Armenia just one week before April 24. Mr. Babajan, a Genocide denialist and high-ranking official of a hostile country that is blockading Armenia, should never be welcomed in Yerevan, unless he intends to place a wreath at the Armenian Genocide Memorial Monument and offers an apology to the Armenian people!

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  • Turkish-American “Strategic Partnership”: On the Way to Rejuvenation?

    Turkish-American “Strategic Partnership”: On the Way to Rejuvenation?

    Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 6 Issue: 45 March 9, 2009 01:42 PM Age: 3 hrs Category: Eurasia Daily Monitor, Foreign Policy, Turkey, Home Page, Featured By: Saban Kardas

    U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (left) greets Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan (Photo: EPA)

    U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Ankara on Saturday, the highest-level direct contact between the administration of President Barack Obama and the Turkish government so far, highlighted the value each side places on sustaining the Turkish-American partnership. In addition to her meetings with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Clinton met with Foreign Minister Ali Babacan after which the two held a press briefing and made a joint statement about strengthening the bilateral relationship. Clinton also visited Ataturk’s mausoleum in Ankara and appeared on a popular show on the private NTV channel.

    The joint declaration stated that the parties “reaffirmed the strong bonds of alliance, solidarity, and strategic partnership…as well as the commitment of both countries to the principles of peace, democracy, freedom, and prosperity enshrined in the Shared Vision and Structured Dialogue document agreed to in July 2006” (www.turkey.usembassy.gov, March 7).

    Clinton had a chance to discuss a wide range of issues with Turkish officials including the Middle East peace process, Iraq, Afghanistan, energy security, the global financial crisis, terrorism, developments in the Balkans and the Caucasus, Turkey’s EU membership process, and the Cyprus problem. The continuing discussions on using Turkish territory as a possible route for US troops leaving Iraq reportedly occupied the major part of Clinton’s agenda during her private discussions with Erdogan and other Turkish officials (ANKA, March 8). In response to a question about Turkey’s possible role in the U.S. withdrawal plans, Clinton noted that the process was still in its initial phases and Washington would maintain discussions with Turkey on the subject. Babacan repeated his earlier remarks on the issue, emphasizing that talks at the technical level were already underway and that Turkey had a constructive approach to the subject (Anatolian News Agency, March 7).

    Another major item discussed was Turkey’s contributions to resolving conflicts in the region. Clinton reiterated American appreciation of Turkey’s role with regard to the Palestine issue and the indirect talks between Syria and Israel. Both sides said that they would work together to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable peace in the region. Likewise, Clinton expressed her country’s support for the process of reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia that Ankara initiated. Clinton also noted that Washington found Gul’s visit to Iran this week important (Sabah, March 8). Although some Turkish sources speculated that Gul might have carried messages from Washington to Tehran (Hurriyet, March 9), this has yet to be confirmed officially.

    Overall, statements from both sides stress that the two parties had useful discussions and found mutual ground on issues of common concern, which might herald a new era in Turkish-American relations. Achieving consensus on strategic matters aside, a major roadblock in Turkish-American relations has been the public animosity toward the United States and how to reverse the anti-Americanism that became strongly engrained in the Turkish body politic during the Bush years. Cognizant of these challenges, the American side did its best to appeal to the Turkish people, as reflected in Clinton’s appearance on a TV show targeting female viewers (EDM, March; www.ntvmsnbc.com, March 7).

    Likewise, Clinton capitalized on Obama’s vision of change to emphasize that Turkish-American relations were entering a new phase. She announced that Obama would visit Turkey in a month. A White House official said that Obama’s trip “will be an important opportunity to visit a NATO ally and discuss shared challenges,” adding, “It will also provide an opportunity to continue the president’s dialogue with the Muslim world” (www.cnn.com, March 7). It is not yet known, however, whether the speech Obama had promised to deliver in a Muslim capital during his first 100 days in office will be given in Ankara or in the capital of another Muslim country. Given the positive feelings of the Turkish people toward Obama’s election as president (EDM, November 7), the visit might indeed help improve the deteriorating American image in Turkey.

    A similar move in public diplomacy concerns attempts to diversify bilateral relations on the societal level. The joint statement announced that a new program called “Young Turkey/Young America: A New Relationship for a New Age” would be launched. It would establish ties between emerging young leaders from both countries “to develop initiatives that will positively impact people’s lives and invest in future ties between the leadership of [the] two countries” (www.turkey.usembassy.gov, March 7).

    The Turkish side was apparently satisfied with the trip. Speaking on the private NTV channel, Babacan said, “Turkish-American relations have entered a new phase … Our foreign policy priorities are completely in line with each other. In the new phase, the focus is on consultation and cooperation.” Underlining Turkey’s willingness to work together with the United States as partners, Babacan added, “Clinton emphasized Turkey as a strategic partner. She accentuated this more powerfully than the previous administration, and the new administration is aware of Turkey’s importance.” Nonetheless, Babacan debunked the overly optimistic expectations that Clinton’s visit indicated that Obama might not use the word “genocide’ in his Armenian Memorial Day address in April, This possibility was not completely off the table, he said (www.ntvmsnbc.com, March 8).

    In the 1990s, under the Bill Clinton presidency, the Turkish-American relationship flourished in many areas and came to be called a strategic partnership. The Iraq War and ensuing developments turned “strategic partnership” into an oxymoron to describe Turkish-American relations. Despite efforts to save the relationship from further deterioration, disagreements between Ankara and Washington were difficult to bridge. The 2006 Shared Vision document, which the Babacan-Clinton joint statement referred to, for example, outlined a framework of close cooperation and structured dialogue to regulate bilateral relations. It was not put into practice, however, and relations hit a low point in 2007, when Washington criticized the Turkish government for its silence on anti-Americanism in the country and Ankara censured Washington’s inactivity toward PKK terrorism. This time, there appears to be a more solid basis for rejuvenating the partnership: strong references to the 2006 document after a long break are coupled with both sides’ carefully worded statements, which take each other’s sensitivities into account, and a determination to address problems through dialogue without playing blame games. With political will on both sides, it is not be wrong to assume that finally they may not only “talk the talk” but also “walk the walk.”

    https://jamestown.org/program/turkish-american-strategic-partnership-on-the-way-to-rejuvenation/

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  • Turkey, US pinpoint areas of cooperation in new era

    Turkey, US pinpoint areas of cooperation in new era

    In a joint statement, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed their countries will consult each other and cooperate closely on a wide array of issues, ranging from peace in the Middle East and Cyprus to Turkish-Armenian rapprochement and energy security.

    Babacan and Clinton shake hands at the end of a news conference in Ankara on Saturday.

    In the text, announced during Clinton’s brief visit to Ankara on Saturday, the United States backed Turkey’s calls for ending the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, Turkish-Armenian efforts to normalize relations and international efforts to resolve Armenia’s dispute with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, while Ankara vowed to continue its contributions to the US-led efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.

    The text of the Joint Statement by Turkey and the United States is as follows:

    Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Ali Babacan today reaffirmed the strong bonds of alliance, solidarity and strategic partnership between the Republic of Turkey and the United States, as well as the commitment of both countries to the principles of peace, democracy, freedom, and prosperity enshrined in the Shared Vision and Structured Dialogue document agreed to in July 2006.

    Turkey and the United States reiterated their determination to continue close cooperation and consultation on all issues of common concern. They pledge to contribute to peace and stability in the Middle East and in this context, to support a permanent settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, including alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the basis of a two-state solution; to enhance energy security and to expand the Southern corridor of natural gas and oil infrastructure to enable Caspian basin and Iraqi energy producers to reach European and world markets; to promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the south Caucasus, including through U.S. support for the efforts of Turkey and Armenia to normalize relations and joint support for the efforts of the Minsk Group to resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict; to continue to cooperate in the Balkans; to support strongly a comprehensive and mutually-acceptable settlement of the Cyprus question under the auspices of the UN and in this context ending the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots; and to enhance their cooperation in the fight against terrorism, particularly against their common enemies, the PKK and al-Qaeda. The United States will continue its intelligence support for Turkish operations against the PKK and is reviewing ways to be more supportive. As members of the G-20, Turkey and the United States pledge continued cooperation to deal with the global economic crisis and efforts to increase and diversify bilateral economic relations with particular emphasis on trade, investment, scientific and technological cooperation.

    Secretary Clinton and Foreign Minister Babacan discussed Turkey’s accession to the European Union as a member, a goal the United States continues to strongly support, as well as the Government of Turkey’s continued emphasis on reform process. With their commitment to Transatlantic relations and as Allies in a strong NATO, they pledge continued cooperation in Afghanistan, including through continued Turkish contributions to Afghanistan. They reiterated their commitment to the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Iraq as well as reiterated their support for a democratic, pluralistic, unified and federal Iraq. They also welcome Turkey’s deepening relations with the Government of Iraq as evidenced by high level visits as well as trilateral meetings to discuss cooperation against the PKK. Turkey and the United States will strongly back the United Nations Security Council in its work to maintain global peace and security for the prevention and removal of threats to the international community and in this context will cooperate in dealing with issues including terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime and the threat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery in the region and beyond.

    Finally, they reaffirmed their determination to diversify the broad based bilateral relations particularly between the Turkish and American people. In that context, the Secretary and Minister announced the establishment of “Young Turkey/Young America: A New Relationship for a New Age.” This initiative will enable emerging young leaders in Turkey and the United States to develop initiatives that will positively impact people’s lives and invest in future ties between the leadership of our two countries.
    09 March 2009, Monday
    TODAY’S ZAMAN  İSTANBUL