A delegation from TUSIAD Headquarters in Istanbul, including Chairwoman Ümit Boyner, Vice-Chair Tayfun Bayazit, Board Member Volkan Vural, and Soli Özel, advisor to the Chairwoman, arrived in Washington on Thursday for several high-level meetings. The busy day began with a working luncheon including several policy experts and Turkey-watchers. This was followed by a panel discussion hosted by the Brookings Institution entitled “U.S.-Turkish Relations: A Perspective from the Private Sector” moderated by Ömer Taşpınar and including speeches from Mrs. Boyner and Mr. Özel that focused on Turkey’s new foreign policy and the recent crises in U.S.-Turkey relations. Mrs. Boyner stressed the need for effective communication between the two nations in addition to arguing against a Turkish “axis-shift” away from the West.

Following a brief Q&A session the delegation, including TUSIAD US Representative Abdullah Akyuz, went to the State Department to meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Philip Gordon, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, among other State Department officials. The delegation held a press conference at the TUSIAD-US office before their return to Turkey.

(Photos Courtesy of US State Department Photographer Michael Gross)