US embassy cable - 03ANKARA7015

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 007015 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SE, EUR/PPD AND EB/IFD 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: BBSR, ECON, IZ, KPAO, TU 
SUBJECT: GAZIANTEP BUSINESS COMMUNITY: LET'S GET DOWN TO 
BUSINESS 
 
 1.  SUMMARY:  DPO and the PD FSN visited Gaziantep October 
21-24 to become familiarized with the American Corner 
operation there and meet with local business people. 
Gaziantep presents itself as a forward-thinking, 
business-oriented city which seeks to overcome any obstacles 
to commerce.  There are clearly good resources and a desire 
to work with the U.S. (especially in Iraq).  So far, with the 
exception of Sanko Holding, very few business people whom 
consulate staff met are participating in the reconstruction 
effort in Iraq.  Considering the business and educational 
resources available in Gaziantep, the American Corner is 
well-positioned to provide a viable connection between the US 
and this important Southeast Turkey business center.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
 
2.  DPO and the PD FSN visited Gaziantep October 21-24 to 
become familiarize post with the American Corner operation 
and meet with local business people.  Their visit to the 
American Corner coincided with that of the PAO and 
Information Resource Center Director from Embassy Ankara. 
The contrast between this city and the climate in other 
cities in Southeast Turkey is exemplified by the fact that in 
a three-day visit interlocutors only initiated one political 
discussion with the DPO.  Members of the Gaziantep business 
community repeatedly told consulate staff, &let,s not let 
politics interfere with doing business.  In Gaziantep we are 
business people first, not politicians.8 
 
 
3.  Gaziantep Chamber of Industry (COI) President Nejat Kocer 
expressed disappointment in the cancellation of the 
FCS-sponsored &Doing Business in the US8 seminar and hoped 
that the Ambassador would make a visit in the near future. 
He is supportive of our American Corner located in the COI, 
and believed that it could improve the commercial connection 
between the US and Gaziantep.  He also mentioned that the EU 
supported a very active office in Gaziantep.  According to 
Kocer, this office sponsored frequent large meetings and 
maintained connections with the Turkish Ambassador to the EU. 
 In his experience, these meetings successfully opened 
markets, particularly in Iraq, for Gaziantep-based business 
people. 
 
 
4.  Kocer visited the US as part of a previous Adana PO,s 
commercial delegation and is familiar with US business 
practices.  He believed there would be value in a partnership 
between the Gaziantep COI and a COI in the US, something 
similar to a &sister city8 concept.  He also suggested that 
an US export fair in Gaziantep, particularly in the area of 
agricultural machinery and products, would attract customers 
for US products. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5.  Consulate staff met with Deputy General Secretary of the 
Southeast Exporters Union Ekrem Acilgan and representatives 
of the export business community.  The representatives 
identified two major impediments to doing business in Iraq 
(consulate staff heard the same at the COI ).  First, the 
10,000 USD restriction on transporting cash across the 
Iraq-Syria border is hitting the exporters particularly hard 
because there is no viable banking system in place in Iraq. 
They wondered how they could do business without violating 
this restriction.  Secondly, they expressed concern that the 
peshmergas at the Habur Gate collected customs duties only 
from Turks and not other nationalities.  They stated that 
peshmergas generally charged Turks 1500 USD per truckload. 
 
 
6.  Most exporters seemed to be doing business at prewar 
levels and experienced difficulty procuring new contracts. 
They were not pleased that they were unable to deal directly 
with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) or large 
contractors, and were only able to work through a network of 
middlemen.  The representatives remained positive about doing 
business in Iraq, but believed that only if these problems 
were solved, would their business volume increase beyond 
prewar levels. 
 
 
7.  Consulate staff met with officials from Sanko Holding 
investment division.  Sanko Holding is a significant part of 
the Gaziantep economy. Although primarily producing textiles, 
they have diversified into building materials, bottled water, 
cement, packing materials and films, and represent roughly 
15% of the Gaziantep economy.  In addition, Sanko supports a 
new hospital, public school and 16 private schools in 
Gaziantep.  The hospital is being used by the EU to treat UN 
personnel as well as Iraqis. 
 
 
8.  Investment Division member Hakan Ozkok expressed interest 
in any possible joint ventures with American companies. 
Currently, Sanko supplies the CPA with bottled water through 
their association with Nestle.   At the time of the meeting, 
Ozkok was preparing for a trip to the US to participate in a 
seminar on sustainability  issues with a consortium of 
bluechip companies.  . 
 
 
9.  Another significant resource for industry is Gaziantep 
University, which, according to the rector Dr. Huseyin Filiz, 
is based on the Middle Eastern Technical University (METU) 
model.  (Located in Ankara, METU is one of the country,s 
leading universities; in several departments all instruction 
is in English.)  At Gaziantep University,  all  engineering 
courses are taught in English.  There is a department for 
teacher training in English and an American Literature and 
Culture department.  With the financial support of Sanko 
Holding, a textile engineering department was established. 
 
 
10.  Consulate staff also attended the Food Fair in 
Gaziantep, where an impressive array of food products, both 
bulk and processed, as well as food processing machinery, was 
displayed.   Participants in the Fair came from all over 
Southeast Turkey, as well as from the Syrian Consulate from 
Aleppo.  The COI President mentioned that Syria soon would 
open a consulate in Gaziantep.  Gaziantep has developed a 
customized logo for the city itself and all Gaziantep-based 
companies incorporate the stylized pistachio nut logo into 
the packaging of their products and advertising.  The 
business people here show a cohesiveness that goes beyond 
marketing their own individual products to marketing their 
city as well. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EDELMAN