Government Presentations

Man, today was busy. We started off by heading to the Ministry of the Treasury to hear presentations on everything from the Turkish economy to accounting methods to risk management strategies. I don't know too much about the government side of finance (even in the USA), so these presentations were definitely very informative; it was kind of difficult to process all of the information at times, though.

After the four presentations, we had a break for tea, and we reconvened to hear a representative from the Ministry of Defense speak about Turkish diplomacy, specifically with regards to Turkish-American relations. We learned all about the history of our strategic alliance, but it was definitely interesting to hear a Turkish perspective on the war in Iraq - although the resolution to allow US troops in Turkey did not pass, it sounds like both countries are starting to understand each other's mutual interests and are taking steps to restore good diplomatic relations. When Brent asked about the AKP, however, the representative declined to comment on the issue; politics is politics, I guess.

After the governmental speakers, we went to lunch at Middle East Technical University, which is where Sibel goes to school. We saw a big of the campus and then went to a "Science Park," which is what Turkey calls its research parks. There were a few corporate presentations, including the administrative copmany and its governmental partner organization, and two technical firms that have rooms in the building. It is interesting to see that a common trend in Turkish business is maintaining a competitive edge, especially through emphasis on research and development. Many of the technical firms also do a lot of work for the government, which is also a bit different from the United States.

Once we ate dinner, it was back to the government building for our meeting with the Minister of Foreign Trade. I was surprised to learn that he was actually an alumnus of the University of Illinois, and that Professor Leblebici had taught him. He offered some interesting insights into Turkey's future as both a European and Asian trade partner. I was surprised to learn how much more Turkey exports than many present member states of the European Union, and that seems to be a big plus for the country.

After all this, we still had a flight to catch! Go figure. At 11:40 p.m., we left Ankara for Izmir, and then drove by bus to Selçuk. After an eighteen-hour day, we were exhausted, and immediately after arriving at our hotel, I was out like a light.