Remarks Following a Meeting With Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey in Ankara, Turkey
April 6, 2009

Prime Minister Erdogan. Distinguished members of the press, let me start by saying how pleased I am to have this opportunity to host the distinguished President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama.

We have had a very busy day in Ankara today, and it will continue with a reception in Istanbul, and then we will have an ongoing—a continuing program tomorrow, which will mean that the visit to Turkey will have been quite a busy one.

We have had opportunity as two strategic partners to review the status of our bilateral relations. We also have had opportunity to discuss regional issues such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East. In addition to discussing these issues, we’ve also discussed issues looking forward into the future, such as energy. And we had an opportunity to assess the recent development with respect to NATO. I do believe that our fight against terrorism will continue in the future with the same determination and the same solidarity.

And I would like to thank the President for the warm interest that he has shown to our country, Turkey. And I leave the floor to the President.

President Obama. First of all, I want to thank the Prime Minister as well as the entire Turkish Government, from the President to the Speaker, for their extraordinary hospitality.

I had the opportunity to get to know the Prime Minister when we spent time together at the G–20. I was impressed with his leadership, and now I’m even more impressed because he gave a perfect summary of our conversation.

So just to reiterate what I said in my speech and what I’ve said throughout my visit, I think that Turkey is a critical strategic partner with the United States, not just in combating terrorism but in developing the kind of economic links, cultural links, and political links that will allow both countries to prosper and, I truly believe, the entire region and the world to prosper.

So I’m very much looking forward to the partnership with Turkey, and I’m convinced that under Mr. Erdogan and President Gul and their Government are going to be excellent partners in that process.

Thank you.

NOTE: The President spoke at 5:05 p.m. in Prime Minister Erdogan’s office. In his remarks, he referred to Koksal Toptan, Speaker, Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Prime Minister Erdogan spoke in Turkish, and his remarks were translated by an interpreter. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these remarks.

Categories: Meetings With Foreign Leaders and International Officials : Turkey :: Prime Minister Erdogan.

Locations: Ankara, Turkey.

Names: Erdogan, Recep Tayyip; Gul, Abdullah; Toptan, Koksal.

Subjects: Commerce, international : Group of Twenty (G–20) nations; Terrorism : Counterterrorism efforts; Turkey : President Obama’s visit; Turkey : Prime Minister; Turkey : Relations with U.S.

DCPD Number: DCPD200900237. WSPC File: dcpd-2009-00237.xml