Ergun KIRLIKOVALI
[ Please note: The press release below dated April 3, 2009 by Nurten Ural, President, ATAA, Phone: 202.483.9090, E-mail: [email protected] , pretty much sums up my thoughts on this issue at this time. I do hope, however, to do an overall evaluation of the Obama visit in the near future . EK]
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EMBASSY NOTES: (OBAMA) VISIT TO BOLSTER THE TURKISH-AMERICAN ALLIANCE AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
U.S. President Barack Obama will make an historic visit to Turkey next Monday and Tuesday, April 6 and 7, highlighting the importance of the United States’ friendship, strategic partnership, crucial alliance and cooperation with Turkey.
As the fifth U.S. president to visit Turkey, President Obama will meet with President Abdullah Gul as well as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and will speak at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in the Turkish capital of Ankara. He will then proceed to Istanbul, where, among other engagements, he will attend the Alliance of Civilizations Summit reception and meet with Turkish students in a roundtable discussion. The roundtable forum will be an opportunity for President Obama to reach out to the youth in Turkey and in the region from Istanbul, a city that bridges Asia and Europe, the East and the West, and that embodies unity in cultural diversity.
President Obama’s visit represents yet another major step in the course of a time-tested, ever-deepening and expanding relationship between the U.S. and Turkey. The two countries’ special relationship, drawing from a mutually beneficial history of friendship, is currently based on a shared strategic approach to the contemporary challenges. Indeed, the U.S. and Turkish governments are currently working together in a vast number of areas both regionally and globally, to name a few: transatlantic security, Afghanistan and South Asia, Iraq, the Middle East, the Caucasus, the Balkans, establishing energy security, countering terrorism, assisting non-proliferation, and overcoming the global economic downturn.
The White House has announced that the visit is intended to reinforce Turkey’s importance as an ally. As Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Denis McDonough said in a March 28 press briefing, President Obama “wanted to make very clear on this first trip that Turkey is a vital ally, a vital member of NATO, and a vital bilateral partner to the United States in a range of issues, not only as it relates to NATO but as it relates to many other concerns.” McDonough cited Turkey’s leadership role in facilitating the Israeli and Syrian talks, as well as Turkey’s efforts to serve as a geopolitical bridge between Asia and Europe. He also added that the President looks forward to addressing each of these issues with Turkish leaders.
Not surprisingly, President Obama’s visit to Turkey, his second bilateral foreign visit following his inauguration as the 44th U.S. President in January, comes at a time when U.S.-Turkey relations are on a rising trajectory. The visit follows and effectively culminates earlier phone conversations between President Obama and President Gul and Prime Minister Erdogan, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s recent visit to Turkey.
On a final note, the leaders of both countries intend not only to ensure a strong relationship between their governments but also between the Turkish and American peoples. To this end, both governments are announcing the establishment of a “Young Turkey/Young America Initiative”, which will enable emerging young leaders in Turkey and the United States to develop initiatives that will positively affect people’s lives and invest in future ties between the leadership of both countries.
Embassy of the Republic of Turkey
2525 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20008
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