Erdoğan flies to US with packed agenda for Obama talks

Erdoğan, speaking at a press conference in İstanbul ahead of his departure for the US capital, said he and Obama would exchange views on the future of bilateral relations, which were defined as a model partnership” by Obama during his visit to Turkey in April. “Primarily, we will talk on issues which are common on our agenda and on which we have been cooperating; developments in a wide region which includes Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Middle East, the eastern Mediterranean, the Balkans and the Caucasus.

We will also discuss various issues such as the struggle against terrorism, prevention of the spread of weapons of mass destruction, global financial crisis, climate change and the security of the energy supply,” Erdoğan said, underlining that the April visit by Obama, which took place shortly after he took office in January, has brought a “significant momentum” to the bilateral relations between the two NATO allies.

“I believe that my visit will be useful and timely for maintaining this momentum, for further strengthening and diversifying Turkey-US cooperation and for carrying out concrete steps regarding our economical and commercial relations in order to make them as good as our cooperation in the political and military fields,” he added.

Erdoğan is being accompanied by a large delegation during his visit to the United States. In addition to his spouse, Emine Erdoğan, State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, State Minister and chief EU negotiator Egemen Bağış, Public Works and Settlement Minister Mustafa Demir and ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chairman Kürşad Tüzmen are in the delegation. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) are being represented by Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Aslan Güner during the visit.

While in the US, Erdoğan will deliver speeches at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, The Johns Hopkins University and the Washington branch of the Ankara-based Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA). In his speeches he will focus on Turkey’s foreign policy, Erdoğan said.

Besides the ongoing Turkish-Armenian rapprochement process and the Cyprus issue, the global dispute surrounding Iran’s controversial nuclear program and Obama’s new strategy on Afghanistan are likely to take more time than other topics during the Erdoğan-Obama meeting. On Friday, Erdoğan met with Iran’s nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, in Ankara. The meeting was held behind closed doors and no statement was made after the meeting. Iran and the West are deadlocked over a UN proposal for Iran to send much of its uranium abroad for enrichment. The plan is aimed at reducing Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile in hopes of thwarting the country’s ability to make a nuclear weapon.

Speaking in İstanbul, Erdoğan was asked whether he would have talks with US officials on Turkey’s contribution to Afghanistan.

The level of Turkish troops in Afghanistan has increased from 750 to around 1,800 in step with Turkey’s one-year term leading the Kabul Regional Command for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which began on Oct. 31, Erdoğan noted.

“At the moment, we have done what we could,” Erdoğan said, adding that Turkey could train the Afghan army and police if needed, while signaling Turkey’s unwillingness to respond positively to an official US request for the contribution of further troops and more flexibility on the Afghanistan mission.

After wrapping up his talks in Washington on Tuesday, Erdoğan will proceed to Mexico for an official visit at the invitation of President Felipe Calderón. The visit will mark the first prime ministerial level visit from Turkey to Mexico in almost a decade. Erdoğan will depart from Mexico on Thursday.

In line with its multidimensional foreign policy, Turkey pursued a more active policy towards Latin American and Caribbean countries in the early 1990s. An “Action Plan for Latin America and the Caribbean” was put into effect in 1998, and has been reviewed regularly since then. In 2006 Turkey took another significant step, declaring 2006 the Year of Latin America and the Caribbean, giving a further boost to the action plan.

Joint economic plan

Today, on the occasion of Erdoğan’s visit, the two allies will outline a US-Turkey plan for economic and commercial cooperation at a joint press conference with US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Turkey’s Babacan.

Turkey, which has been holding accession negotiations to become a member of the European Union, has been interested in a free trade pact with the US. Turkey is the United States’ fourth-largest trading partner in the Muslim world and 27th overall. Its top exports to the US include steel, clothing and jewelry. Its top imports from the US are agricultural goods, military equipment parts and aircraft. Two-way trade totaled about $11.1 billion in 2008, but that is expected to fall this year because of the global financial crisis, which has crimped consumer demand.