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Events
Andrew Light Speaker Tour in Europe May 14, 2013 / Berlin, Germany; Brussels, BelgiumGMF Senior Fellow Andrew Light participated in a speaking tour in Europe to discuss opportunities for transatlantic cooperation on climate and energy policy in the second Obama administration.
In this podcast, GMF Vice President of Programs Ivan Vejvoda discusses last month's historic agreement to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
Anchor Elaine Reyes speaks with Andrew Small, Transatlantic Fellow of the Asia Program for the German Marshall Fund, about Beijing's potential role in brokering peace between Israel and Palestine
Events
Turkish Deputy Undersecretary: North African revolutions bring U.S.,Turkey closer together March 02, 2011 / Washington, DC
On March 2, The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) hosted Ambassador Selim Yenel, deputy undersecretary at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ambassador Yenel discussed the latest trends in Turkey-U.S. relations, with a focus on potential areas for closer cooperation as well as Turkey’s active outreach to neighboring countries. Ambassador Yenel’s portfolio spans relations with the Americas, policy planning, culture, and public diplomacy.
Ambassador Yenel discussed how recent events in the Middle East and North Africa have brought Turkey and the United States closer together. During his discussion, he emphasized that the “Turkish model” cannot be uniformly applied across the Middle East because of the unique conditions prevailing in each country. He described their handling of each situation on a “case-by-case” basis. With regard to Libya, Ambassador Yenel described their approach as “cautious” due to Turkey’s extensive commercial interests there and the significant Turkish expat community in Libya. With 25,000 Turkish workers still in Libya, it is inevitable that Turkish policy differs substantially from their approach to the revolution in Egypt.
During the discussion, he described the challenge of expanding Turkish-U.S. commercial relations. Ambassador Yenel also touched on the difference between the Turkish perception of Americans as individuals – largely positive – and the troubled perception of American policy. He agreed that both Turkey and the United States need to think more imaginatively about how to reinvent the strategic partnership and about possible new “big projects” as a focus for cooperation.
To listen to a podcast with Ambassador Yenel and GMF Senior Transatlantic Fellow Ian Lesser, click here.
