Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ISTANBUL319
2008-06-16 11:40:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Istanbul
Cable title:  

TURKEY SEEKS ARAB INVESTMENT

Tags:  EINV PREL TU 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO0241
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHFL RUEHKUK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHIT #0319/01 1681140
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 161140Z JUN 08
FM AMCONSUL ISTANBUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8240
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000319 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2018
TAGS: EINV PREL TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY SEEKS ARAB INVESTMENT

Classified By: Consul General Sharon A. Wiener

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000319

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2018
TAGS: EINV PREL TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY SEEKS ARAB INVESTMENT

Classified By: Consul General Sharon A. Wiener


1. (C) Summary. The third annual Turkish-Arab Economic Forum
attracted high level attendance including the Prime Ministers
of Turkey, Syria, Qatar, Somalia and the Palestinian
Authority as well as the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and a
number of finance, energy and investment ministers. Turkish
Prime Minister Erdogan delivered a stirring call to his "Arab
brothers" extolling the virtues of investing in Turkey as a
bridge to peace and stability and a road to Europe, courtesy
of Turkey's status as an EU candidate state. His largely
upbeat remarks were in sharp contrast to remarks by Turkish
Finance Minister Unakitan who highlighted the damage to the
global economy caused by high commodity prices and the
on-going global credit crunch, assigning the preponderance of
the blame for these problems to the United States. End
Summary.


2. (U) The third annual Turkish-Arab Economic Forum was held
June 12-13 in Istanbul. Panel discussion topics included:
future Turkish-Arab economic partnership, banking and capital
markets links, investment, tourism and real estate, and
Turkey's growing energy needs. Turkish participation was
very high level with Prime Minister Erdogan delivering
remarks at the opening ceremony and the ministers of finance
and energy as well as the heads of the Turkish investment
promotion agency, the Turkish Chamber of Commerce and the
Istanbul Stock Exchange serving as panelists or moderators.


3. (U) The opening ceremony featured remarks by the Prime
Ministers of Qatar, Somalia, Syria, the Palestinian Authority
and Turkey as well as by Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham
Saleh. Remarks were largely hortatory, and expressed a
general consensus that the conference signified the
commitment of players in the region to work together more
closely and help each other fill important economic gaps or
lack of resources. Prime Minister Erdogan called for
improved economic ties between Turkey and Arab countries and
urged Arab businesses to invest in Turkey. Erdogan described
Turkey as a bridge of development and prosperity between the
Arab world and the West and underscored the important role
Turkey, as an EU candidate state, could play in bringing the
Middle East and Europe closer together. He called for all
countries in the region to work together to solve the
problems of the Middle East in a cooperative fashion.


4. (U) Turkish Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan was one of
several finance ministers who participated in a panel
discussion on "Turkish-Arab Economic Partnership: A Vision
for the Future." This discussion began as a general report
of the financial health of each country with comments on
areas where greater cooperation would be welcome. Unakitan
delivered a somewhat different message by highlighting what
he described as three global crises having a negative impact
on Turkey - "the oil crisis, the food crisis and the
financial crisis." Unakitan noted that high oil prices were
causing the balance of power in the world to shift and
encouraged Arab countries to focus on taking care of
countries in the region (like Turkey) that have water and
food resources, but lack fossil fuels. He bemoaned the
relative lack of Arab investment in Turkey noting that of the
cumulative $52 billion in foreign direct investment over the
past three years only $5 billion had come from Arab
countries, who had invested $2 trillion internationally
during the same period. He suggested Western countries would
attempt to attract money from the Arab world to deal with
on-going financial turbulence, and warned Arab investors
against investing in the United States, because there is no
guarantee they'd recoup their investments. Unakitan accused
the U.S. of acting out of self-interest, causing wars and
economic disruption in the Middle East and contrasted this
behavior with Turkey's understanding of the politics of the
region.


5. (C) Comment: It is interesting that PM Erdogan chose to
highlight Turkey's ties to the West and to Europe in
particular at this event, while Finance Minister Unakitan
very clearly cast Turkey in an "us vs. them" struggle with
the West. Unakitan's unhelpful comments about the U.S.
source of the economic problems facing Turkey today track
broadly with public opinion here; the Spring 2008 Pew Global
Attitudes Survey shows 70% of Turks have a negative view of
U.S. economic influence with only 4% voicing positive
sentiments and 12% with neutral impressions. (By contrast,
responses to the same question were more evenly distributed
in Lebanon -- 41% negative/20%positive/34% neutral; Egypt 49%
negative/10% positive/36% neutral; and Jordan 45%
negative/15% positive/35% neutral.) Statements like
Unakitan's will only serve to reinforce negative attitudes.

ISTANBUL 00000319 002 OF 002


End Comment.
WIENER