Turkish businessman wants stronger migrant, Trump ties

By Ovunc Kutlu and Selcuk Acar

NEW YORK (AA) – A prominent Turkish-American businessman said Monday he wants to build ties between immigrants, including from Turkey, and President-elect Donald Trump.

Trump's election was "a natural outcome," Murat Koprulu, Chairman of the American-Turkish Society told Anadolu Agency.

"Trump understood what the American people wanted. They wanted change.”

Koprulu said Trump's victory resembles the Turkish general election of 2002 when the current AK Party came to power.

"Trump understood that in the U.S., immigrants can get the American people's jobs. He used that in his campaign. He is told (by others) to speak against Muslims but he has a lot of businesses in Muslim countries. I think he will soften when he takes the office."

Trump's victory was "a renaissance in a new age," according to Koprulu, who argued that his triumph wiped out old politicians in the Democratic and Republican parties.

"That is a great success. Trump doing this was very important. Old politicians cannot produce any more," he said.

Koprulu said he has had a close relationship with Trump over the years and wants to "build a bridge" between the president-elect and immigrants.

"We gave a letter to Mr. Trump on the morning when he got elected, and said we want to work with him in resolving immigrant issues," Koprulu added.

Stating that the American Immigrant Society co-founded by Koprulu has its sights on approximately 80 million immigrants in the country, also wants to establish a community center on New York's lower east side on what is known as the Avenue of Immigrants.

The city is expected to donate a building for the center, he said.

Koprulu, who is a descendant of Ottoman Grand Vizier Koprulu Mehmet Pasha and Turkey's ex-Foreign Minister M. Fuat Koprulu, said Trump's election victory is "a new opportunity" for improving relations between Turkey and the U.S.

He added that Trump has attended events hosted by the American-Turkish Society.

The billionaire real estate developer co-chaired a gala in 2012 that saw collaboration between Turner Broadcasting Systems and Turkey's Dogan Media Group for cooperation between CNN and CNN Turk. He also met with Turkey's former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller in New York.