This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

141555Z Mar 06

UNCLAS ANKARA 001352 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT ALSO PASS USAID FOR DAA WOODY MEFFORD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID BEXP TU
SUBJECT:  U.S. CHAMBER-TURKEY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its Turkish 
counterpart, the Union of Chambers and Exchanges (TOBB), 
tell us they are not prepared to sign a "memorandum of 
understanding" in Ankara on March 17.  Activities under the 
MOU would be implemented by the private contractor Carana, 
which has received from USAID a $400,000 grant from the 
Economic Support Fund (ESF).  U.S. Chamber and TOBB 
officials say that despite their efforts, they have not been 
able to agree with Carana on a budget and workplan for 
activities that would support interaction between U.S. and 
Turkish small- and medium-sized firms. 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  This project originated from the Economic 
Partnership Commission led by the Under Secretary of State 
for Business Affairs and Turkey's Under Secretary for 
Foreign Affairs.  Its success would diversify and expand our 
bilateral economic relationship, expand U.S. business 
contacts in this growing market, contribute to Turkey's 
economic and business development, and be a public symbol of 
commitment to expanding the bilateral relationship. 
Although the amount of funding is relatively small, TOBB and 
the U.S. Chamber see the project as an opportunity to create 
a collaborative relationship that would make a long-term 
contribution to greater U.S.-Turkey business ties. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  In that spirit, we see this project as an 
important part of the bilateral economic relationship and 
are committed to working with USAID, the U.S. Chamber, TOBB 
and Carana for its success.  As we do so, it is important 
that we keep at the forefront the goal of building a strong 
relationship between the two business organizations.  The 
program implemented by Carana should meet the needs and 
desires of both TOBB and the U.S. Chamber.  It is therefore 
hard to understand that elements agreed by TOBB, U.S. 
Chamber, USAID, and Embassy officials last November were not 
included in the initial workplan proposed by Carana, which 
instead called for activities that would involve only Carana 
employees and reach only a small number of companies. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  TOBB has recently made suggestions that refocus 
Carana's proposal and allow the project to reach a maximum 
number of Turkish firms.  Its letter to the Ambassador has 
been copied to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and USAID.  We 
expect that Carana will incorporate these suggestions into a 
revised workplan and budget that TOBB and the U.S. Chamber 
will support and work with Carana to implement.  We 
appreciate the efforts of USAID to keep this important 
project on track and to provide direction to Carana to 
support maximum interaction between TOBB and the U.S. 
Chamber.  In lieu of the MOU signing in Ankara, we suggest 
working with the two organizations to target a signing 
ceremony in Washington on the margins of the March 26-29 
annual meetings of the American Turkish Council, at which 
TOBB will be represented by a high-level delegation. 
WILSON