[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 46 (Monday, November 22, 1999)]
[Pages 2390-2392]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to American and Turkish Business Leaders in Istanbul, Turkey

November 16, 1999

    The President. Thank you very much. First, to my good friend 
President Demirel, thank you for your remarks and for the wonderful 
visit that you have hosted for Hillary and Chelsea and me and our entire 
American party, culminating in the magnificent dinner last night and the 
presentation of the award, which I will treasure always. Thank you, Mr. 
Koc, for gathering this distinguished group of Turkish business leaders. 
To the American delegation here, Secretary Albright and others, thank 
you very much for being here.
    And I want to say a special word of appreciation to Senator Nancy 
Kassebaum Baker for her willingness to lead this group. The presence of 
Nancy and her husband, Senator Howard Baker, here--literally, two of the 
most outstanding Members of the United States Senate since the Second 
World War--is a great tribute to the importance of the relationships 
between the United States and Turkey. I am grateful for their service to 
our country and grateful for their leadership. And Nancy, thank you very 
much for your giving your time to this important endeavor. I thank you 
very much.
    I am honored to be in this historic city of two continents and three 
empires, now the modern hub of Turkey's free market democracy. I am 
thrilled to be in this magnificent building, in this beautiful room. 
It's almost enough to make you miss the empire. [Laughter] 
Unfortunately, at least if we still had the empire, I'm sure I wouldn't 
be invited to lunch here today, so--[laughter]--I think we're getting 
the best of both worlds.
    I'm honored to be with all of you who have contributed so much to 
the growth and strength of this country. I thank the Turkish-U.S. 
Business Council and the American-Turkish Council for all they have done 
to promote ties between our two nations and to improve the welfare of 
our peoples.
    President Demirel has said that Turkey is situated at the center of 
the world. That was true in ancient times; it was true in the 20th 
century, even after the end of the Ottoman

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Empire. It will be even more true in the 21st century. What Turkey does, 
and what we do together in the coming years, will help to determine 
whether stability takes roots in the Balkans and the Aegean; whether 
true and lasting peace comes to the people of the Middle East; whether 
democratic transformations in the States of the former Soviet empire, 
from the Caucasus to central Asia, actually succeeds.
    Clearly, economic developments will have a lot to do with our 
success in all these endeavors. The steps we take together today to 
improve the climate for trade, investment, and jobs will help to bring 
this region together, to reduce tensions, to strengthen democratic 
governments. In turn, the strengthening of freedom and stability will do 
even more to spur prosperity.
    There is hardly a place in the world where the intersection of 
politics and economics is more clearly complete. Therefore, I would like 
to take just a couple of moments to make a few points about what we have 
been doing and where we are headed together. First, let me applaud the 
bold economic reforms taken by Turkey under Prime Minister Ecevit, 
including landmark legislation on Social Security, international 
arbitration, banking regulation, and the budget. These are part of a 
global trend of opening markets, strengthening financial stability, and 
imposing fiscal discipline, while working to ensure that society's most 
vulnerable are not left behind. These measures will improve the climate 
for trade and investment and will lead to more jobs and higher incomes 
for the people of Turkey.
    Second, I am very pleased, to echo President Demirel, that trade 
between our two countries has reached new heights, rising 50 percent in 
the last 5 years alone, now surpassing $6 billion. We are the fourth 
largest supplier of exports to Turkey and the second largest market for 
exports from Turkey.
    Following the August earthquake and the pressures it put on the 
economy here, we have gone the extra mile to be flexible to Turkish 
textile exports, and recently taken important steps to further expand 
trade and investment between our two countries. In September, during 
Prime Minister Ecevit's visit, we signed a trade and investment 
framework agreement to cut through redtape and work through 
disagreements in our trading relationship. Our Overseas Private 
Investment Corporation will soon double its activity in Turkey to more 
than $1 billion. Our Export-Import Bank will delegate $1 billion in 
lending authority to 12 Turkish banks--powerful evidence of our 
confidence in Turkey's economy and our commitment to strengthen it. In 
turn, Turkey's decision to open its market to cattle imports will 
benefit United States ranchers and Turkish consumers. We're also on the 
verge of completing some major agreements--a $30 million contract for a 
vessel-tracking system to help keep the crowded Bosphorus safe and 
protect the environment; a framework agreement for joint irrigation 
projects in southeastern Turkey; and a half-dozen power plants worth 
some $5 billion. These projects will be good for both countries, and I 
hope we can conclude all of them soon.
    Third, we are moving ahead, as the President said, to build energy 
security in the new century. We've made great strides toward the 
proposed Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the trans-Caspian gas pipeline. 
These will help to diversify our sources of energy and help the newly 
independent countries of the Caucasus and central Asia stand on their 
own feet. They will put Turkey, our trusted ally, front and center in 
the effort to create a secure energy future.
    I'll bet if you polled the citizens of the United States and Turkey, 
over 90 percent of them would never have heard of the Baku-Ceyhan oil 
pipeline or the trans-Caspian gas pipeline. But if we do this right, 20 
years from now, 90 percent of them will look back and say thank you for 
making a good decision at a critical time.
    Fourth, greater economic cooperation and integration is vital to the 
future of Turkey and its southeastern European neighbors. A central 
challenge, of course, is building stronger economic ties between Turkey 
and Greece as a part of a larger effort for reconciliation and 
cooperation between your two countries. I am very pleased the private 
sector is leading the way. But the Turkish-Greek Business Council is 
back in business, and both nations are talking about increasing 
bilateral trade and tourism.

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    Political and economic forces here, again, reinforce each other. In 
order for our two NATO Allies, Greece and Turkey, to be full partners in 
the European Union, bilateral relationships must improve. In order for 
southeastern Europe to overcome the Balkan wars in Bosnia and Kosovo and 
the legacy of communism in the other states of the southeast, the 
nations of the region must draw closer to each other, and then together 
draw closer to the new Europe.
    Again, I say these efforts can only succeed if Greece and Turkey are 
leading the effort. Because of the earthquakes and the human response to 
them by both Turks and Greeks; because of the leadership, outstanding 
leadership in the Turkish and Greek Governments; because of the Cyprus 
talks just announced, we now have a genuine opportunity for fundamental 
and enduring reconciliations between your two lands. I will do 
everything I can to help you seize this chance. I believe seizing this 
chance will have enormous economic, as well as political, benefit to the 
ordinary citizens of Turkey well into the next century.
    The last point I want to make is this: If we want strong economic 
growth and lasting prosperity, it is essential that we work everywhere 
to deepen freedom and democracy in our own countries and around the 
world. I applaud the strides Turkey is making in this regard, not 
because the Americans or the Europeans want it, but because it's the 
right thing for the Turkish people. And I encourage further progress in 
these areas, such as freedom of expression, because it is right, and 
because we in America have a great stake in your stability, in Turkey's 
ability to reap the full benefits of the information age and the global 
economy, in Turkey's full integration in Europe, in Turkey's full 
success as a modern, prosperous, secular society bridging East and West.
    I am proud that we are working as partners with you to build better 
lives for our citizens, and I am proud to have had the opportunity to 
represent the people of the United States on this historic trip.
    I would like to close by asking my fellow Americans to join me in a 
toast to President Demirel, the leaders of this organization, and the 
people of our host nation, Turkey.

[At this point, the participants drank a toast.]

    The President. This is a beautiful painting. Wait, I want to say 
this. You know, I just bought a new home. [Laughter] In my attempt to 
fulfill the last ambition of my life, I am trying to follow in the steps 
of Senator Howard Baker and become the husband of a United States 
Senator. And this will look very good in that home. Thank you very much.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 3:25 p.m. in the Palace 
Dining Hall at the Imperial Chalet. In his remarks, he referred to 
President Suleyman Demirel of Turkey; Mustafa V. Koc, chairman, Turkish-
U.S. Business Council of the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey 
(DEIK); former Senator Nancy Kassebaum Baker, chairman, American-Turkish 
Council, and her husband, former Senator Howard H. Baker, Jr.; and Prime 
Minister Bulent Ecevit of Turkey. The transcript released by the Office 
of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of President Demirel.