President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a speech at the Türkiye-U.S. Business Council 13th Türkiye Investment Conference. Thanking the Türkiye-U.S. Business Council for organizing the event that brings together Turkish and U.S. business communities, President Erdoğan said: “We have an alliance relationship spanning many years with the U.S. within the framework of NATO. We want to increasingly strengthen our partnership, which significantly contributes to security, peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region.”  “OUR BILATERAL TRADE VOLUME SURPASSED 32 BILLION DOLLARS” Pointing out that economic and trade activities between Türkiye and the U.S. constitutes an important aspect of the positive agenda in the bilateral relations, President Erdoğan said: “Our bilateral trade volume has grown by 1.5 times over the last decade. The U.S. was the second country to which we exported the most and the fifth country from which we imported the most last year. By the end of 2022, our bilateral trade volume increased more than 15 percent, surpassing 32 billion dollars.” President Erdoğan said: “This upward trend in our trade volume is pleasing. However, our aim, as you know, is to achieve 100 billion dollars. We need to mutually intensify our efforts to this end. In this regard, we have high expectations of you. While enhancing our relations with the U.S. on the political level, we also need to diversify our cooperation in the economic field. We see great potential between the two countries, from new and groundbreaking technologies to critical sectors, from innovation to manufacturing, from artificial intelligence to cyber security. It would be beneficial to expand our cooperation in health care including experience sharing.” “WE WANT TO MAKE OUR COUNTRY A GLOBAL HUB IN FINANCE” Citing energy sector as another critical field in which Türkiye and the U.S. can expand their cooperation, President Erdoğan stated that Türkiye has expedited its natural gas and oil exploration and production activities following the historic discovery in the Black Sea.   Reminding that the Istanbul Financial Center has been inaugurated a short while ago, President Erdoğan said: “We want to make our country a global hub in the areas of finance and participation finance with the Istanbul Financial Center. We will establish a new structure within the center whereby the marketing and valuation of a wide range of energy products from natural gas to minerals are carried out.” “WE ACHIEVED 3.8 PERCENT GROWTH IN THE SECOND QUARTER” Noting that Türkiye achieved 3.8 percent growth in the second quarter while healing the wounds of the February 6 earthquakes, whose epicenter was Kahramanmaraş, President Erdoğan stressed that Türkiye has, thus, achieved the 2nd-highest growth rate among the OECD countries, and third among the G20 countries. Also touching upon the export figures, President Erdoğan said Türkiye’s exports reached 165 billion dollars in the first eight months and 253.5 billion dollars on the yearly basis, and that a much more season was left behind in tourism compared to the previous year. President Erdoğan further noted that there is no decline in employment, adding that a net increase of 220 thousand has been seen in this area despite the earthquakes. “TÜRKİYE CONTINUES TO BE A SAFE HARBOR FOR INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS” Underscoring that Türkiye, with its political stability, trained labor force, young population, large domestic market as well as access to regional markets,  strategic location and modern logistics infrastructure, continues to be a safe harbor for international investors, President Erdoğan went on to say: “Thanks to the close dialogue we have ensured with the regional countries, we are consolidating this position of ours. We signed agreements with a total value of over 50 billion dollars with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates during our visits last month. We have been continuing our efforts to find a settlement to the Russia-Ukraine war since the very first day. We have displayed a strong will to settle our issues with Israel and Greece. We have met with the Prime Ministers of both countries here, and addressed the topics on our agendas. We attach great importance to our re-strengthening dialogue with Egypt. We keep upholding our goal of full membership to the EU despite all the setbacks raised before us and the injustices we have been exposed to for 60 years.” “WE CAN MEET WITH ALL THE COUNTRIES ON A COMMON GROUND” Stating that Türkiye has the second largest army within NATO, President Erdoğan said: “Thanks be to Allah, our cooperation with the Turkic world is increasingly strengthening. Our presence in Africa is felt more and more. By approaching foreign policy from a wide perspective, we work to make the most of all the advantages provided by our country’s strategic location. We believe that we can meet with all the countries on a common ground when dialogue and diplomacy are given a chance.” Expressing his hope to overcome with the U.S. the matters arising from such unilateral practices as additional customs tariffs in steel and aluminum sectors, President Erdoğan stated: “Likewise, we expect the obstacles raised before the enhancement of our cooperation in defense industry to be immediately removed. Significant duties fall to you, too, in promoting the geopolitical importance and economic opportunities of Türkiye, which is a monument of stability in its region. We always appreciate the efforts the private sector, you, treasured business world, and business councils exert to improve the Türkiye-U.S. relations.”