Turkey and USA Announce Agreement to Turn Istanbul to Finance Hub

Turkey and the United States have agreed to turn Istanbul into a global finance hub with the latter providing technical infrastructure, a Turkish official said Monday.

“Istanbul is already a regional financial center. Our aim is to make it a genuine global financial hub,” deputy undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry Selim Yenel told reporters at a joint press conference with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs Jose Fernandez. The press conference came following a Turkey-U.S. Economic Partnership Commission meeting.

The Turkish government has been working to make Istanbul a financial hub for a long time by transferring key national economic institutions, such as the Central Bank, from Ankara to Istanbul, Yenel said, adding that the next move is making Istanbul a globally recognized finance hub.

“We have asked the U.S. to provide some infrastructure services and agreed on this,” Yenel said. Energy efficiency, cooperation in third countries and nuclear energy were other issues discussed.

October 3, 2011
SOURCE: HURRIYET DAILY NEWS