By Tuba Sahin
ANKARA (AA) - Turkish and American business circles will gather in Washington starting on Sunday.
The 37th Annual Conference on U.S.-Turkey Relations will have the theme "Back to Business: Maintaining Partnership in Difficult Times."
The three-day event, organized by the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK), Turkey-U.S. Business Council (TAIK), and American-Turkish Council (ATC), will discuss ways to reach a $75 billion bilateral trade target.
In February, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to further enhance economic relations, setting a goal of $75 billion in bilateral trade.
"For the past two years, the focus was on politics – now’s the time to get back to business," Mehmet Ali Yalcindag, TAIK's chair, said in a statement.
He underlined that this year's event aims to create a business and commerce platform rather than focus on the defense industry.
Expected to attend the meeting are Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Energy, and Natural Resources Deputy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.
From the U.S. side will be Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, National Security Advisor John Bolton, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford and Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette. Senior Advisor to the President Jared Kushner is also confirmed to attend.