U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk held a press conference today along with their Turkish counterparts, Foreign Trade MinisterZafer Çağlayan and Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, following the inaugural meeting of the U.S.-Turkey Framework for Strategic Economic and Commercial Cooperation. The Framework establishes an annual forum for senior-level officials from both countries to discuss commercial and economic issues and work towards enhancing the bilateral relationship.

The Framework stems from a meeting President Obama and Turkish President Gul held in April 2009.  In response to a request from President Gul, President Obama pledged to work towards enhancing our commercial and economic relationship with Turkey. | Joint statement  |  Press release  |  Fact sheet