ANKARA – U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) Director Leocadia I. Zak participated today in the second ministerial meeting of the Framework for Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation (FSECC) in Turkey. The meeting was co-chaired by Acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk as well as Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and Turkish Minister of Economy Zafer Çağlayan. The event follows the 2010 inaugural ministerial meeting, and is designed to enhance bilateral public and private sector coordination and communication between the two countries.

"USTDA is uniquely positioned to contribute to the goals of the FSECC, as our programs are designed to foster commercial partnerships between project sponsors in Turkey and the many U.S. companies looking to expand their customer base in Turkey," stated Director Zak. "USTDA effectively leverages the best resources and innovations of the U.S. private sector to match emerging opportunities and development priorities in Turkey."

In addition to representing the U.S. Government during the renewable energy and energy efficiency and the infrastructure sectoral initiatives discussions, Director Zak announced that USTDA will be hosting a U.S.-Turkey Smart Grid Workshop in Istanbul this winter. The workshop will focus on technology solutions for building a smarter electrical grid, including energy efficiency; demand response; distributed generation; renewable integration; electric storage; and standards and safety across all of these categories. The goal of the workshop is to provide a platform for U.S. firms to meet with newly privatized Turkish electricity companies and discuss upcoming opportunities, share best practices, and form key partnerships to advance projects in this important sector.

As a result of its growing economy and ambitious infrastructure plans, Turkey has been designated a priority market for USTDA. The Agency has a robust program in Turkey to connect the U.S. private sector to priority development projects in the country. In particular, USTDA and Turkey have a strong partnership in the clean and renewable energy sector which builds upon the countries' existing U.S.-Turkey Clean Energy Partnership, which was signed by representatives of USTDA and Turkey's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in 2009. In the past three years, the Agency has supported a dozen activities that directly support the advancement of commercial partnerships between U.S. companies and Turkish clean energy developers.

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The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority development projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project planning activities, pilot projects, and reverse trade missions while creating sustainable infrastructure and economic growth in partner countries.

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