American companies view Turkey as regional hub, U.S. official says

American companies view Turkey as a regional hub, U.S. Embassy in Ankara spokeswoman Julie Eadeh said in a statement on Wednesday.

The stock of U.S. foreign direct investment in Turkey reached $5.8 billion in 2020, while U.S.-owned affiliates employed nearly 60,000 people in 2019, Eadeh said amid the U.S.' perspective on developing Turkish-American trade and economic ties.

Stressing that the U.S. and Turkey have a strong and growing economic relationship, Eadeh said total merchandise between the two countries neared $28 billion in 2021, a 32% increase from the year before.

"Turkish goods find an increasingly attractive market in the United States. The United States was the number 2 market for Turkish exports in 2021. In fact, 2021 saw an almost 45% increase in Turkish exports to the U.S. to $16 billion," she said.

Eadeh noted that the U.S. remains Turkey's fourth-largest trading partner. "There is room for further growth on both sides of the trading relationship."

Her comments came during a two-day visit by U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Marisa Lago.

Lago held separate meetings with Turkish Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar and Deputy Minister of Trade Mustafa Tuzcu to advance commercial ties and promote clean technologies.

Eadeh said Turkey has made solid progress in recent years to improve the security and diversity of its energy supplies and has been a leader in the development of renewable energy.

She said the U.S. is committed to partnering with Turkey to advance clean and renewable energy generation sources in the region, and the U.S. looks forward to more energy security cooperation in the near future.