Erdogan opens the tense issue of security and trade relations with the US and its impact on NATO
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that artificial obstacles to Ankara’s cooperation with Washington in the field of defense industries negatively affect the security of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
This came in a speech he delivered during his meeting with a number of American businessmen, on the sidelines of his participation in the work of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York State.
Erdogan explained that the obstacles impeding cooperation in the field of defense industries between Ankara and Washington are caused by pressure from some lobbies, and that this biased position is detrimental to US interests.
Regarding the existing trade relations between the two countries, Erdogan said that the volume of trade exchange between the two countries will reach $100 billion in a short time if the current momentum is properly maintained.
He added, “We want to increase the amount of gas we buy from the United States on better terms in the coming period, and we are ready to cooperate in delivering US liquefied gas to countries in the region”.
He stated that Türkiye and the United States are friends, allies and strategic partners with deep-rooted relations.
He pointed out that the multi-dimensional cooperation between the two countries has made great contributions to establishing peace and stability in many regions of the world.
He pointed out that trade exchange between Türkiye and the United States reached a record high last year, despite the Corona pandemic, reaching $28 billion.
He pointed out that the volume of trade exchange between the two sides during the first eight months of this year amounted to $22 billion, an increase of 30% compared to the same period last year.
He stated that direct US investments in Türkiye amounted to 14.1 billion dollars, and that the investments of Turkish companies in the United States amounted to 8.6 billion dollars.
Regarding the tourism sector, Erdogan said: “We hosted more than 500,000 American tourists in our country in the first seven months of this year.
Turkish Airlines, which operates direct flights from Istanbul to 12 US destinations, has an important contribution to this.
I think this number will rise in the coming period”.
He continued, “The global economy has been experiencing difficulties since 2020, from the Covid epidemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war to the energy and food crisis, and high inflation in many countries of the world, and the Turkish economy was able to successfully overcome these adversities through growth, export and the use of labor”.
And he added, “While the global economy is experiencing a real contraction, we achieved in Türkiye during the first quarter of this year a growth of 7.5% and in the second quarter of 7.6%”.
