An official from Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that both Turkey and the United States had a sound will to boost commercial ties between them, Anadolu News Agency reported.
Foreign Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Selim Yenel, who is currently in Washington, D.C. for the 6th meeting of the U.S.-Turkey Economic Partnership Commission (EPC), attended a reception hosted by American-Turkish Council and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Yenel said that Turkey and the United States had good relations in the areas of politics and military, stating that the two countries also made a strategic decision to boost relations in the area of commerce.
"Turkey has a dynamic and young population. I assure you this young population offers several opportunities for American companies. There are also several opportunities for the two countries to make business in the third countries. We have advantages in our region. There are also advantages in South America," he said.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs Jose Fernandez said that they would keep working to turn Turkish-U.S. relations into a "real model partnership."
The U.S. administration dedicated itself to boosting its relations with Turkey, he said.
Fernandez said that Turkey and the United States had several common grounds, stating that they also want to focus on partnerships with Turkish financial sector.
The 6th meeting of the U.S.-Turkey Economic Partnership Commission (EPC) will be co-chaired by Yenel and Fernandez at the U.S. Department of State on Thursday.
The meeting of the EPC is focused on exploring opportunities for further economic and commercial cooperation between the United States and Turkey. The EPC is a key component in realizing shared goal of strengthening the economic partnership, and builds on the work of the U.S.-Turkey Framework for Strategic and Economic and Commercial Cooperation held in October 2010. The delegations from both countries will discuss trade, investment and entrepreneurship, as well as pharmaceutical, energy, and agricultural issues under this framework.