VZCZCXRO8775
PP RUEHDA
DE RUEHAK #0616/01 0780927
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 190927Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1365
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEBAAA/DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL PRIORITY 2347
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA PRIORITY 1757

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000616 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS USTR FOR LERRION 
DEPT PLEASE PASS USTDA FOR DSTEIN 
USDOC FOR 4200/ITA/MAC/EUR/PDYCK/CRUSNAK 
USDOC FOR 3133/ITA/USFCS/OIO/CEEBIC/MCOSTA 
USDA OSEC FOR DUS TERPSTRA 
USDA FAS FOR OCRA FOR CURTIS, FLEMINGS 
DOE FOR CHUCK WASHINGTON AND LANA EKIMOFF 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EINV ETRD TU
SUBJECT:  MFA PREVIEWS TURKEY'S RESPONSE TO EPC ACTION PLAN 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary:  In a March 14 meeting with Ambassador, Foreign 
Ministry Under Secretary Ertegrul Apakan previewed Turkey's reaction 
to our draft of the Economic Partnership Commission (EPC) Action 
Plan.  Stressing that MFA staff needed a week or two to get 
interagency clearance, Apakan said he was in general very pleased 
both by the EPC meetings and the concrete way the Action Plan has 
developed.  He believes that it stands with the "Strategic Vision 
Document" as a tangible demonstration of our joint commitment to the 
relationship and hopes that the document can be made public. 
Following are some of the specific comments mentioned by Apakan, 
which he said were preliminary and offered in the spirit of refining 
what is already an excellent document.  Ambassador said we shared 
the positive assessment of the paper and the prospects for deeper 
economic cooperation, noting that some of the action items -- such 
as last weekend's Iraq gas meeting -- were already being 
accomplished.  End Summary. 
 
Science and Technology Cooperation 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Apakan said renewing the S and T cooperation agreement is 
a priority for the MFA.  The draft provided by the State Department 
is currently being reviewed by other Turkish agencies.  In addition, 
Apakan suggested that a yearly U.S.-Turkey University Conference 
could be incorporated as part of the S&T section of the Action Plan. 
 Ambassador noted that the Turkish American Scientists and Scholars 
Association already did this, perhaps providing a base on which to 
build.  Apakan agreed, saying it was unfortunate that State Minister 
Babacan was not able to participate in the upcoming TASSA conference 
when he is in the United States later this month because of 
scheduling reasons. 
 
Container Security Initiative 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Apakan mentioned that Turkish interagency discussions 
related to the CSI agreement were occurring in Ankara.  Following 
the meeting with Apakan, we separately suggested to Director General 
for the Americas Vefahan Ocak that travel by Turkish officials to 
the TIFA Council meetings next month presents an opportunity to 
discuss the agreement with Homeland Security and State Department 
officers and counsel, and hopefully to finalize it. 
 
Joint Production Opportunities 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Apakan felt that this language could be more 
"forthcoming" and said that the Turkish side would provide specific 
suggestions on how to go beyond the current reference to 
"exploration" of opportunities.  He argued that it was important to 
have specific wording "since this idea replaces QIZs."  Apakan 
suggested moving the JPO language to the business subheading, but 
also said that MFA would propose additional descriptive language to 
enhance the regional cooperation topic. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Apakan suggested finding a way to highlight the proposed 
cooperation between the Small Business Administration and Turkey's 
KOSGEB.  (Post will ask MFA to arrange a meeting with KOSGEB to get 
a better understanding of the issues raised during the EPC 
meeting.) 
 
Energy 
------ 
 
¶6. (SBU)  Apakan stressed the importance of this topic and the 
opportunities for cooperation.  Ambassador mentioned the recent 
meeting on Iraqi Natural Gas and the trip to Henry Hub, which has 
been proposed for April 14.  Apakan and Ocak felt that the language 
regarding a transit agreement should also find some way to call upon 
European countries to support such gas transit.  Ambassador noted 
that we had to be careful about how this would be worded, but looked 
forward to hearing the Turkish suggestions. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Apakan noted the reference to cooperation on "Clean Coal" 
technology, saying that this would be an especially useful area to 
emphasize. 
 
Final Document Should Be Public 
 
ANKARA 00000616  002 OF 002 
 
 
------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  Finally, Apakan reiterated his satisfaction with this 
work and its contribution to the relationship, suggesting that the 
final document be made public.  Post would support this idea, but 
would appreciate Washington's guidance. 
WILSON