Thursday, 1 December 2011By Nihal Cizmecioglu, JTW
A U.S. Vice President visiting Turkey is not a very common case. Since his inauguration in 2009, this will be the first visit of Joe Biden to Turkey. His predecessor Dick Cheney has visited Turkey twice; first in March 2002, then in March 2008. Dick Cheney’s predecessor Al Gore did not pay a visit to Turkey.
Biden will make the opening remarks of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit that is the follow-up of the "Entrepreneurship Summit" hosted by the U.S. in Washington on April from April 26-27, 2010. The objective of the first summit was to deepen the ties between business leaders, foundations, and entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world. In this context, 275 Muslim entrepreneurs from 59 countries ranging from Morocco to Indonesia, from Uganda to Kazakhstan, and from France to India participated in the summit. The United States considers this second summit to be held in Istanbul important, hoping that it will promote a merchant class that can help deliver economic and political change in the Arab world. Tony Blinken, Biden's top foreign policy adviser, said that "This summit really comes at a critical moment in the Middle East and North Africa. We've seen that millions of people have been calling out for not only political freedom but also economic opportunity."
The importance attached to the change in the Arab World also increases the significance of Turkey, not only by hosting the Entrepreneurship Summit but also by being a model to the transforming Arab world. Tony Blinken admitted straight out that Turkey is an important example to transforming Arab countries and that is why it is important for the U.S.
This emphasis on the role of Turkey in the Arab world gave the impression that the basis of the talkswill be the turmoil in Syria. However, surprisingly, Biden’s National Security Counselor Tony Blinken declared the “struggle against the PKK” the first issue on the agenda of Biden’s visit. Before the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, on December 2, Biden will meet President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoðan, and contrary to popular belief the Syrian issue will not occupy the agenda completely. Biden will also hold talks on Cyprus, the normalization of relations with Armenia, Afghanistan, reforms in Turkey—especially Halki seminary, etc. |
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Nihal Cizmecioglu, JTW
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