Turkey's president says NATO summit with Biden to mark new era

ANKARA

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on May 26 that a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden during a NATO summit next month will mark the beginning of a new era.

"We care about our long-standing, rooted and multidimensional alliance with the U.S. Although there are differences of ideas from time to time, our partnership and alliance have managed to overcome all kinds of predicaments," Erdoğan said in a video conference before meeting U.S.-based companies' executives.

"From Syria to Libya, and from fighting against terrorism to energy, and from trade to investments, we have a serious potential of cooperation with the U.S.," he said.

Erdoğan said that Turkey and the U.S. should bring mechanisms for economic strategy and partnership to life, and he is aiming for a $100 billion trade volume between the two countries.

He asked the U.S. to take more constructive steps amid additional tariffs on aluminum and steel, and noted Biden's comments on 1915 events have brought an additional burden on US-Turkey relations.

"We have always supported multinational companies that invested in our country, created employment and contributed to our economic development," he told.

"In improving our economic and trade relations, we are happy to see that the new US administration has the same will as we have," Erdoğan said, noting that Turkey has never resorted to protectionism economic policies during the coronavirus pandemic.

The president said none of the supply-chain setbacks seen in other countries during the pandemic were witnessed in Turkey. "We have differentiated positively during that time in areas of investment, employment, production, logistics, public safety, and social support," he said.

Erdoğan noted that Turkey's economy expanded 1.8% in 2020 - the highest growth rate of any country among the G20 after China.

Later, Erdoğan held a roundtable call with 20 U.S. corporate chief executives to highlight both countries' growing cooperation. Executives from Microsoft and Netflix were among those joined the call.