On Tuesday, November 18 the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) with the German Marshall Fund of the US sponsored an event to present the executive summary of an upcoming TUSIAD report called “Rebuilding a Partnership: Turkish-American Relations for a New Era”. 

Soli Ozel, Professor of International Relations at Bilgi University and co-author of the report, provided a summary of its key findings and recommendations, and Ian Lesser of the German Marshall Fund of the US provided an analysis of the report’s conclusions.  David Ignatius of the Washington Post moderated the event.

In his summary, Mr. Ozel expressed his hope that the new Obama administration would help repair the transatlantic rift by reaffirming Turkey’s place in the transatlantic community and by showing support for Turkey’s democratization, EU membership process and domestic goals.  He explained that Turkey can be of significant assistance in dealing with the problems of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and the Caucasus, as well as in moving the moribund Middle East peace process forward, but that Turkish opinions and recommendations cannot remain an afterthought for success in these difficult areas, and neither can its domestic agenda be ignored.  Mr. Lesser, in turn, asserted that the report, by providing ample and concrete recommendations, will be valuable for a new administration in order to revitalize the Turkish-American partnership in a new era.

Please Click Here to Read the Executive Summary of the Report.