US, Turkish SME’s should do business
ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency
Industry Minister Nihat Ergün says Turkish and US SME’s could benefit from cooperation and entering new third markets.DHA photo
American and Turkish firms can do business together in the U.S., Turkey and third countries, Industry Minister Nihat Ergün said yesterday at a meeting with Nathan Deal, the governor of Georgia, and Chris Cummiskey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.Noting that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the United States also need to break into foreign markets, Ergün said, “[American SME’s] may think that trading with each other in interstate trade is enough, but in fact it is not. American and Turkish firms could do business together in the Turkish market, the American market and in third countries. American and Turkish firms active in the same industries should be brought together.”
Turkey has deep-rooted relations with the U.S. federal government, but should enhance its relations with individual American states as well, Ergün said.
The bilateral trade volume between Turkey and the U.S., which is at $20 billion, is still not large enough, Ergün said, adding that the political and defense alliances that exist between the two countries should be reflected in the economic field.
Ergün said next month he will attend a bio-technology congress in Boston, at which Turkey will sign a cooperation protocol with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and suggested that similar protocols could be created with CalTech or Georgia Tech, as well.
Turkey’s recently announced incentive scheme is comprehensive and very generous, Cummiskey said, adding, “We have very good universities in the state of Georgia. We have to commercialize the bright ideas that come out of these and [Turkish] universities.”
