Erdoğan's F-16 message from the US: 'Export restrictions...'

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with American and Turkish business leaders within the framework of the 15th Turkey Investment Conference organized by the Turkey-US Business Council (TAİK).

Noting his belief that this meeting, which has become a tradition, offers an important opportunity for new collaborations and partnerships for the business circles of both countries, Erdoğan stated that economic and commercial issues constitute one of the most important dimensions of relations with America.

Stating that America has been Turkey's second-largest export market and fifth-largest import source for the last two years, Erdoğan said that the bilateral trade volume exceeded 30 billion dollars last year. Erdoğan said, "As I have stated many times, we have great potential to steadily increase bilateral trade indicators."

Expressing his sincere belief that the joint target of 100 billion dollars in trade can be reached with good planning, President Erdoğan emphasized that for this to happen, unilateral practices such as additional customs duties in the iron, steel, and aluminum sectors, investigations, and CAATSA sanctions must be abandoned.

President Erdoğan stated that Turkey has a large, strong economy with extremely high potential, noting that it is one of only 5 countries in the world today—along with the US, Japan, Russia, and Mexico—that has both a population of 85 million and a per capita income of over 13 thousand dollars. He added that Turkey has grown by an average of 5.4 percent over the last 20 years and that they have invested more than 270 billion dollars in infrastructure during that period.

President Erdoğan reported that they have more than doubled the number of airports and that exports have increased more than 20-fold in 20 years. Stating that they have doubled their share of global exports, President Erdoğan said, "We are in the top ranks in the defense and aviation industry. We are the world's largest UCAV supplier. Thanks to our transparent, predictable, and investor-friendly policies, we have attracted nearly 270 billion dollars in international direct investment over the last 20 years."

Stating that Turkey is the only country whose credit rating was increased by 3 agencies in 2024, Erdoğan said that the number of foreign-capital companies in Turkey has risen from 6 thousand to 83 thousand, and that despite the problems in the region, they have continued to grow in exports, employment, production, and tourism.

"We are reaping the fruits of the economic program that we strongly support and have been implementing for the last year," said Erdoğan. "We have entered a process of permanent and significant decline in inflation, which is a problem for our country as well as the whole world. The unemployment rate has improved beyond our targets. Despite the effects of the earthquake, we have rapidly recovered public finances. We have removed reserves as a source of concern. All international rating agencies have not remained indifferent to these developments," he said.

Reminding that Turkey is the only country whose credit rating was increased by 3 agencies in 2024, Erdoğan stated that they aim to move Turkey into the league of high-income countries by making macroeconomic stability permanent.

President Erdoğan stated that they want to attract more investments to Turkey that are high value-added, support sustainable digital transformation, are based on advanced technology, and provide qualified employment, and that they have prepared a new international direct investment strategy for this purpose. He said, "Thus, we will increase our country's current 1 percent share of the global investment pie to 1.5 percent by 2028. Renewable energy, defense industry, biotechnology, and automotive sectors stand out as areas where we show special interest and where we can sign joint projects with American firms."

Stating that they aim for Turkey to become a focal point for high-tech investments by 2030, President Erdoğan said, "For this purpose, we will provide qualified support for investments to be made in over 30 areas such as semiconductors, green energy, advanced manufacturing, healthy living, digital technologies, communications, and space."

Expressing that they have had a productive year with America in terms of both mutual business delegation visits and official contacts, Erdoğan assessed, "In these contacts, opportunities for joint business in many regions of the world, especially in geographies such as Central Asia and Africa, have come to the fore. We can realize this potential with the active support of institutions such as Eximbank and IFC. It is pleasing that our cooperation in the energy field is also developing following our start of LNG imports from America in 2016. Today, America has become our largest supplier in this field, and we desire to crown this relationship with a long-term contract. The letter of intent signed in May between our energy company BOTAŞ and the American energy company Exxon Mobil was an important step."

Stating that cooperation in the defense industry has unfortunately remained far below its potential in recent years due to restrictions, Erdoğan said, "I hope that we are opening a new page with the F-16 modernization project, and we expect the export restrictions in this area to be permanently lifted."

Stating that the dynamism of the Turkish defense industry offers an unrivaled opportunity in terms of global supply chains, Erdoğan noted that the cooperation established in the production and supply of 155-millimeter caliber artillery shells is one of the most concrete examples of this, that the production facilities the firms will put into operation in Texas will take supply processes in this area to a new level, and that the support of business people is important to advance existing projects and establish new partnerships that will contribute to joint security. Stating his belief that the American business world can take on more effective roles in supporting efforts, Erdoğan said:

"I would like you to know that we would be happy to see new investors in Turkey along with you. I expect your active support in providing the necessary facilities, especially regarding visas, for Turkish firms to enter the American market."

News Source: İHA