The largest U.S. government-led commerce mission and business improvement discussion board, Trade Winds gathered entrepreneurs, businesspeople and high commerce officers from each the United States and Türkiye in Istanbul between Monday and Wednesday this week.
The summit, held yearly in a distinct metropolis, kicked off on Monday and noticed participation and speeches of the officers on Tuesday, aiming to impress business alternatives between the 2 nations and others.
Trade Minister Ömer Bolat, U.S. Trade Under Secretary Marisa Lago, U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Jeffry Flake and U.S. Istanbul Consul General Julie Eadeh are amongst these attending the occasion, held on the Hilton Bosphorus lodge within the metropolis’s bustling Harbiye neighborhood.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Lago stated the sheer dimension of the U.S. commerce delegation on the convention was a “testament to the fact that the business community sees the opportunity” within the nation.
With over 120 U.S. companies participating in her division’s largest annual commerce mission, she stated they had been in Istanbul “because they see the opportunity to partner with businesses in Türkiye, and also around the entire Europe and Eurasia region.”
“Interestingly, when we launched Trade Winds in 2008, it was here in Istanbul. And this is the first time ever that we’ve returned to a city again, a testament to Istanbul in Türkiye as being such a trading capital,” Lago stated.
For her half, Eadeh stated the U.S. is assured in Türkiye’s potential.
“Türkiye is such an important partner for the United States. Our trade relationship is strong and vibrant and growing every day. And the United States is Türkiye’s second-largest trading partner. And we are very, very pleased that as of 2022, total trade in goods and services reached $42 billion,” she stated.
“‘Trade Winds’ return to Istanbul is truly a reflection of this incredible city’s potential as the commercial hub, not just for Türkiye, but for the for the region at large,” she added.
‘Nearly midway’ to commerce objective
Asked in regards to the two nations’ “ambitious target” to develop their bilateral commerce quantity to $100 billion, a objective set by then-U.S. President Donald Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2019, the consul-general hailed the progress made thus far, saying: “We’re nearly halfway there.”
“We are so pleased that as of 2022, that figure in total trade in goods and services reached $42 billion. So from our perspective, we’re nearly halfway there,” she stated.
Eadeh additionally pointed to SelectUSA, a U.S. federal authorities program launched in 2007 to draw international direct funding to the U.S., facilitating job creation and financial improvement.
“Trade Winds and SelectUSA are two very pivotal and key outreach efforts to further increase the trade relationship. Specifically in terms of areas where we still see potential,” she stated.
“So we are continuing to look for opportunities to bring our companies together for the benefit of the U.S. and Türkiye.”
The bilateral annual commerce quantity, which amounted to $20.77 billion in 2019, rose to $30.6 billion as of final 12 months, rising 47.3% over 5 years, in response to knowledge compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA) from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
The U.S. was the second high vacation spot for $14.8 billion price of Turkish exports in 2023, rising 65% over the identical interval.
On U.S.-led efforts to spice up entrepreneurship and profession alternatives for ladies beneath an initiative known as Empower Her, Eadeh underlined the continued dedication of Washington’s mission in Türkiye to ladies’s empowerment.
“I’m so pleased to be a woman leading up our consulate here. We are constantly seeking opportunities to promote and to champion women. Whether it is supporting women entrepreneurs or supporting women in sports,” she stated.
For her half, Lago stated that rising ladies’s financial empowerment “was not just the right thing to do, it just made good business sense.”
“And so, we teamed up with AmCham EU and AmChams across Europe and Eurasia to launch the Empower Her initiative,” she stated, referring to American Chambers of Commerce.
Underlining the importance of synthetic intelligence (AI) for business practices, Lago stated this 12 months’s Trade Winds occasion was “focused on the power of AI and how we can harness it to empower women and other historically marginalized communities.”
“We value this partnership with the AmChams throughout the region because they have gone ahead and signed up 165 companies, which have taken a pledge to focus on reducing the gender pay gap, on promoting women into leadership positions, and also to providing programs on skill buildings focused on their women employees,” she added.
When requested in regards to the dangers that include utilizing AI in business, similar to an anticipated drop in employment charges, Lago highlighted the necessity for “safe, reliable AI.”
She additionally touched upon the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which she stated “is the portion of commerce that is leading the way on AI.”
“They have developed an AI risk management framework because we’ve recognized the opportunities, but also the fact that we need safe, reliable AI. And I am very heartened by the fact that NIST is headed by a Ph.D. bioengineer and scientist, a woman doctor, Laurie Locascio,” added Lago.
“Our AI Safety Institute, which we have just recently established, is headed by a woman and its chief technology officer is another woman who recently was on the cover of Time magazine as one of the world’s 100 most influential people in AI,” she stated.
“I think we have to keep our eye on the ball to make sure that this new technology actually furthers inclusion. And as inherent in your question, that women are part of the development of AI.”
Mutual investments diversified
For his half, Bolat stated mutual investments between the 2 nations had been diversified in several sectors over a interval of 20 years.
The U.S. is the second-largest investor nation in Türkiye, with about 2,000 American firms, using round 110,000 folks.
He recalled that Türkiye’s common gross home product (GDP) development price was at 5.4% in 2003-2023, whereas its GDP exceeded $1 trillion for the primary time final 12 months, totaling $1.18 trillion.
Bolat burdened that Turkish companies, in sectors from power to trade and development, had a typical curiosity in advancing the nation’s bilateral relations in each attainable space.
During the occasion, Flake additionally took the stage, pointing to the expansion of Türkiye-U.S. business ties by saying that the price of products and companies traded between them totals roughly $40 billion, whereas U.S. investments in Türkiye account for about $15 billion thus far.
U.S. funding alternatives additionally symbolize important potential between the 2 nations for company partnerships in third nations in areas like Central Asia, he additionally famous.
Flake additionally praised the Turkish authorities’s latest efforts to enhance the nation’s economic system, calling them profitable.
Source: www.dailysabah.com