Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03ANKARA5967
2003-09-22 14:45:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH DEPUTY PM SENER

Tags:  EINV PREL PTER EFIN TU IZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005967 

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/18/2008
TAGS: EINV PREL PTER EFIN TU IZ
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH DEPUTY PM SENER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 005967

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/18/2008
TAGS: EINV PREL PTER EFIN TU IZ
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S MEETING WITH DEPUTY PM SENER


1. (U) Classified by Ambassador Eric Edelman reasons 1.5 (b)
and (d).



2. (C) Summary: In a first meeting with the Ambassador,
Deputy PM Sener seemed open to helping the U.S. with
companies' problems in Turkey. In reply to the Ambassador's
caution against complacency on the reform program, Sener
claimed Turkey would meet its targets. Sener agreed that
Turkey did not want chaos in Iraq but emphasized the
sensitivity of the PKK issue for Turkey. End Summary.


MACROECONOMIC ISSUES:
--------------



3. (SBU) In his first meeting with Deputy Prime Minister
Abdullatif Sener, the Ambassador described the opportunity he
presently saw for Turkey: with inflation at a 20-year low and
growth continuing, Turkey seems to be reaping the fruits of
its tough decisions on the IMF program. Though it is a
moment for optimism, it is not a time for complacency. If
Turkey can complete the Sixth Review in a timely manner and
hit the 6.5 percent primary surplus target, then it would be
on a good course.



4. (SBU) Sener responded by noting the positive macro
indicators, predicting GDP growth might surpass the target,
and that the GOT would hit the fiscal target. He said they
"have to control a few things," but overall were on track.
Sener contrasted the current government with its predecessor
coalition government which was hard put to take decisions.


INVESTMENT ISSUES:
--------------



5. (SBU) The Ambassador recounted Vice President Cheney's
private sector experience that, when proposing a new
investment to a corporate board, a CEO would always be asked
about the experience of American companies that have already
invested in the country in question. Unfortunately, the
Ambassador continued, a number of American companies have had
problems in Turkey, so he hoped the Deputy Prime Minister
would work with him to try to solve some of these problems.
The Ambassador outlined the problems of pharmaceutical
companies due to the lack of data exclusivity, which he noted
was a problem for the EU as well. Given Turkey's geographic

position and its workforce, the Ambassador thought Turkey
should attract much more investment.



6. (SBU) Sener said he was willing to talk about any problem,
and agreed on the importance of improving the investment
climate. For this reason, the GOT had established a
committee to improve the investment climate and was drafting
related legislation, to which it attached great importance.
Sener admitted there might be bureaucratic problems and
expressed a willingness to work on U.S. companies' specific
problems.



7. (SBU) Sener added that there are issues that concern both
countries on which we can cooperate, citing the example of
the Imar Bank case. Sener said that Imar Bank and its owners
had substantial funds outside Turkey and contacts in the U.S.
The Ambassador thought we might be able to cooperate on the
law enforcement side, although Sener admitted with a chuckle
that the Imar Bank money was more likely placed in countries
other than the U.S.



8. (SBU) Returning to the investment climate theme, the
Ambassador said the Uzans' involvement with Motorola had
parallels to the Imar Bank case: if a solution could be
found for Motorola's problems, that would help a lot. Citing
Motorola, Cargill, the Cola companies, and pharmaceuticals,
the Ambassador said the more of these we can resolve, the
more we can attract FDI and employ Turkish workers. A more
transparent and investor-friendly environment would also help
Turkey with EU accession, and would be good for Turkish
business, too. Noting Turkey's longstanding strong strategic
relationship with the U.S., the Ambassador said the economic
dimension has been relatively underdeveloped. Sener agreed
and said he believed that both economic and political
relations will develop.


IRAQ/PKK:
--------------



9. (C) On the issue of a possible Turkish troop contribution
to the stabilization force, the Ambassador conveyed U.S.
sensitivity to the difficulty for any government to send
troops into a possibly dangerous situation. The U.S. had a
very positive impression of Turkish peacekeepers, having
worked with them in Kosovo, Bosnia, and, especially, in
Afghanistan. The Ambassador suggested that if Turkey
contributed troops, U.S. forces might be freed up for more
high-intensity missions, protecting the population from
terror attacks. The Ambassador described the common interest
of the U.S. and Turkey in a stable Iraq, pointing out that
democratic countries rarely go to war with their neighbors
and are more likely to live up to their commitments. The
U.S. and Turkey agree that Iraq should be a unitary state
within existing borders. Iraq was not Afghanistan, in that
it had serious resources, and a democratic Iraq with a
capable government was something all ethnic groups would want
to be a part of.

10. (C) On the PKK/Kadek issue, the Ambassador cited the
recent visit by U.S. officials with expertise in military
planning, refugees, and intelligence and said this would be
the first of several meetings on this complicated issue. The
Ambassador stressed that President Bush's commitment was
categorical: terrorism, whatever the form, must be
eradicated from Iraq.



11. (C) Sener agreed that no one, including Turkey, wants
chaos in Iraq. Recalling his questioning Undersecretaries
Grossman and Taylor about post-war Iraq, Sener said that
whenever a government disappears, illegal forces try to take
advantage. Sener went on to stress the importance to the
Turkish nation of the PKK/Kadek issue. For example, Sener
said that even though his parliamentary district (Sivas) is
removed from southeastern Turkey, over his 12 years in
parliament, whenever he returns to his district people talk
about the PKK issue. In Tunceli, there is a special section
of the cemetery for people killed by the PKK. Claiming there
were 5,000 to 6,000 PKK militants in Northern Iraq, Sener
said it was very important for the GOT to have information
about U.S. plans. Sener regretted that the amnesty law had
only brought in a small number of people, most of whom were
already in prison.



12. (C) The Ambassador said he understood the sensitivity of
the issue but that the U.S. has worked with Turkey on this
issue before, showing more understanding of it than Europe
had. Sener agreed. The Ambassador noted that PKK/Kadek had
been on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations for some
time, that the U.S. was working on European countries to dry
up financing sources for the PKK, and that the U.S. had
cooperated closely with Turkey in the apprehension of Ocalan.
The U.S. and Turkey need to cooperate in Iraq but such
cooperation would really just be a continuation of earlier
cooperation, the Ambassador concluded.
EDELMAN