American companies put Türkiye on their radars

ANKARA

Representatives of 150 American companies will attend Trade Winds forum to be held in Istanbul in May to explore investment and partnership opportunities.

New windows of opportunities have opened after talks between Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his American counterpart, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in March, Heather Byrnes, minister counselor for commercial affairs and Etienne LeBailly, economic counselor at the U.S embassy in Ankara told daily Hürriyet.

The strategic mechanism meeting yielded progress on reviving dialogue in several key areas, including economy.

Confidence in the Turkish market has increased, said the officials from the U.S. embassy.

American companies see Türkiye as an attractive market and the interest in Türkiye will only grow in the upcoming period, they added.

The next concrete step in this direction will be the Trade Winds forum to be held in Istanbul between May 13-15. Executives of America’s largest companies, listed in Fortune 500, will discuss investments and joint projects in third countries.

American companies are especially interested in the renewables market in Türkiye due to its leading role in the world.

In the period ahead, American companies are expected to increase their investments in Türkiye’s solar and wind power sectors.

The health sector has also been on U.S. companies’ radar for some time.

The U.S. companies also seek to increase cooperation in the fields of technology, digital investments and personal data protection. Investment opportunities in those fields will be discussed during the upcoming Trade Winds forum.

Trade Winds is the U.S. government-led trade mission and business development forum.

It is a multifaceted program designed to help companies achieve growth and exposure in specific markets or regions around the world.

Türkiye and the U.S. aim to increase the bilateral trade volume to $100 billion.

To date, American companies have invested a total of $50 billion, employing around 100,000 people, while Turkish companies’ investments in the U.S. are around $2.7 billion.

The U.S was the top source of foreign direct investments equity inflows into Türkiye in January, followed by Germany and the United Kingdom, according to a report by the International Investors’ Association (YASED).

The share of the U.S. in those inflows increased from 8 percent in the 2002-2023 period to 44 percent in January 2024.