Dear Mr. Blair,
Dear Mr. Polat,
Distinguished guests,
Dear business leaders, entrepreneurs and colleagues,

It is a great honor to be with you today on the occasion of the Texas–Türkiye Business Forum, organized by the Greater Houston Partnership, and the Turkish Investment and Finance Office.

I am confident that this forum will provide an excellent platform for companies and business leaders from Türkiye and Texas to discover new opportunities, establish new partnerships and, most importantly, turn potential into concrete businesses.

Let me begin by saying that the economic and commercial relationship between Türkiye and the United States is already strong — but I believe that the it has the potential to become much stronger.

Our bilateral trade in goods and services reached 49 billion Dollars in 2025, an increase of 14 percent compared with 2024.

This is a significant figure. But it also tells us something else: there is still enormous room for growth.

The Presidents of our countries have already set an ambitious long-term goal of reaching $100 billion in bilateral trade. To achieve this goal, we need to move beyond traditional trade patterns and identify new areas of cooperation, new investment opportunities and new connections between our business communities.

And this is precisely where Texas becomes so important.

Texas is not simply one of the largest states in the United States. It is an economic powerhouse. With an economy estimated at approximately 2.9 trillion Dollars, Texas would rank among the world's largest economies if it were a country.

Texas was the largest U.S. exporting state in 2025, with 448 billion Dollars in goods exports. And this is not a recent phenomenon. Texas has been the leading exporting state for 24 consecutive years.

The Lone Star State is also home to 57 Fortune 500 headquarters — more than any other state — and has been named the Best State for Business by Chief Executive for 22 consecutive years.

These achievements are a reflection of entrepreneurial culture, business-friendly environment, skilled workforce, access to capital, infrastructure and global connectivity.

And Houston is certainly at the heart of this ecosystem.

In the 2023 Financial Times–Nikkei Investing in America ranking, Houston was ranked No. 1 in the United States as a destination for foreign multinational companies.

That recognition is particularly meaningful, because Houston combines something that international investors value enormously: a highly diversified economy with world-class infrastructure and access to global markets.

Therefore, the question is not simply why Texas is attractive. The question is why Texas companies should look more closely at Türkiye.

The answer begins with Türkiye's scale, industrial capacity and geographic position.

Türkiye is a major manufacturing and exporting economy, with competitive capabilities in automotive and automotive components, machinery, electrical equipment, textiles and apparel, metals, furniture, food processing, jewelry, defense industries and many other sectors.

In 2025, Türkiye's goods exports reached 273.4 billion Dollars, while total goods and services exports reached approximately 396 billion Dollars.

The Turkish economy grew by 3.6 percent in 2025, marking its 22nd consecutive quarter of growth. Its GDP reached approximately 1.6 trillion Dollars.

At the same time, Türkiye attracted 13.1 billion Dollars in foreign direct investment in 2025, 12 percent more than the previous year. Particularly noteworthy is the sectoral composition: manufacturing accounted for approximately 31 percent of FDI inflows, while information and communication sector accounted for 14 percent.

These figures demonstrate that Türkiye is not simply a large consumer market. Türkiye is a production, technology and investment platform.

Dear Guests,

There is another advantage that I believe deserves particular attention from Texas companies.

Türkiye has a unique institutional and economic connection with Europe through the EU–Türkiye Customs Union Agreement, which entered into force in 1996.

Under the Customs Union, customs duties and quantitative restrictions were eliminated in bilateral trade in industrial goods.

In practical terms, companies producing qualifying industrial goods in Türkiye can ship their products to the European Union market without customs duties.

This is an important competitive advantage.

An investment in Türkiye can therefore provide access not only to Türkiye's domestic market, but also to the European Union's Single Market, while Türkiye's geographical position provides additional access to the Balkans, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle East.

For a company thinking about diversifying its production or supply chains, this combination is highly significant.

And this brings me to what I believe is one of the most promising aspects of the Texas–Türkiye economic relationship: connectivity.

Texas and Türkiye are not only two important markets. They are two strategic gateways.

Texas provides the producer companies with access to the United States, Mexico and the broader Americas.

Türkiye provides access to Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and neighboring regions.

And Houston is the natural logistics hub connecting Texas to the world.

In 2024, trade through Port Houston reached 223.5 billion Dollars, including 129.9 billion Dollars in exports and 93.7 billion Dollars in imports.

In 2025, Port Houston handled a record 4.3 million TEUs container cargo.

These are not simply impressive statistics. They demonstrate the scale of the logistics ecosystem available to companies operating from Houston.

Türkiye, meanwhile, is strengthening its position as a major transportation and logistics hub connecting Asia and Europe.

The development of the Middle Corridor and Türkiye's expanding rail, road, port and logistics infrastructure are creating new possibilities for companies seeking more diversified and resilient supply chains.

So when we look at Türkiye and Texas together, we should not think only about bilateral trade. We should think about global supply chains.

We should think about how a company can manufacture in Türkiye, reach European markets efficiently, and connect through global maritime and logistics networks — while using Texas as a gateway to the enormous U.S.A. market and the wider Americas.

In other words, Türkiye and Texas can offer each other something increasingly valuable in today's global economy: market access, connectivity and supply-chain resilience.

This is also why I believe our economies are highly complementary.

Texas has extraordinary strengths in energy, LNG, petrochemicals, advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defense, agriculture, healthcare, technology, semiconductors, artificial intelligence and data infrastructure.

Türkiye has strong and increasingly sophisticated capabilities in automotive and components, machinery, defense industries, electronics, renewable energy, construction, food processing, textiles, logistics and digital technologies.

There are therefore opportunities not only for traditional trade, but for joint ventures, technology partnerships, manufacturing investments, distribution centers, R&D cooperation and integrated supply chains.

Turkish companies can bring competitive manufacturing capabilities, engineering expertise and access to European and regional markets.

Texas companies can bring capital, technology, global brands, advanced services and access to North American markets.

That is not a relationship based simply on buying and selling. It is a relationship based on creating value together.

For Texas companies, Türkiye offers a competitive manufacturing base, access to the European Union through the Customs Union, and a strategic location connecting Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.

For Turkish companies, Texas offers access to the world's largest economy, one of the most dynamic energy and technology ecosystems in the United States, and a gateway to Mexico and the broader Americas.

The opportunity now is to take the successful examples and replicate them across more sectors with more companies.

Distinguished Guests,

Energy is, of course, one of the most promising areas for further cooperation.

Texas is the largest energy-producing state in the United States and a global leader in oil, natural gas and renewable energy. Türkiye, meanwhile, is rapidly expanding its renewable energy capacity and is investing in energy infrastructure, storage and technologies that support the transition toward a more diversified energy system.

There is also a very strong and growing institutional dimension to our energy relationship.

Türkiye's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Alparslan Bayraktar, has been a frequent visitor to Houston, participating in major international energy meetings and engaging with Houston’s energy community. His repeated visits reflect the importance Türkiye attaches to Houston as a global energy center and to the opportunities for cooperation with Texas's energy companies, investors and technology providers.

There is considerable potential for cooperation in natural gas and LNG, renewables, energy storage, grid technologies, energy efficiency, advanced energy technologies and related manufacturing.

This is an area where our relationship can go well beyond buying and selling energy. It can encompass technology, investment, engineering, innovation and long-term energy security.

Beyond energy, I would particularly encourage companies from both sides to explore opportunities in advanced manufacturing and machinery, defense and aerospace, healthcare and life sciences, digital technologies, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, data infrastructure, food, agriculture, consumer goods and logistics.

These are sectors in which our economies possess strong and often complementary capabilities, and where cooperation can create high-value, knowledge-intensive partnerships.

The figures I have already mentioned are encouraging. But statistics alone do not create partnerships.
People do. Companies do. Entrepreneurs do.

That is why gatherings like this matter.
We need more business delegations in both directions.
We need more B2B meetings.
We need more joint ventures.
We need more investment partnerships.
And we need to encourage our companies to look beyond their traditional markets.

Türkiye is ready to work with Texas.
And Texas is ready to work with the world.

I believe that Türkiye and Texas can move from being important trading partners to becoming economic partners.

We can build new commercial corridors.
We can diversify supply chains.
We can connect our manufacturing and technology ecosystems.
And we can create opportunities that extend far beyond the Texas–Türkiye bilateral market.

Distinguished guests,

Let me conclude with a more personal note.

This gathering is particularly meaningful for me, as it will be my final public engagement and public appearance in Houston. My assignment officially came to an end this week and I am turning back the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs very soon.

Over the past three years, it has been a great privilege and a source of great personal satisfaction to represent and serve my country in Houston.

During my time here, I have made every effort to contribute to the further development of the relationship between Türkiye and Texas — not only in the political and diplomatic sphere, but also by strengthening connections between our business communities, institutions and people.

I will leave this wonderful city with a deep sense of gratitude for the opportunity to have worked with so many people who share our belief in the potential of this relationship.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Greater Houston Partnership, which has been an important and valued partner throughout my tenure, as well as to all the local institutions, organizations, business leaders and community representatives with whom I had the privilege to work.

Your openness, your spirit of cooperation, and your willingness to facilitate dialogue and create opportunities for engagement have meant a great deal to me.

I am particularly grateful for the trust, friendship and constructive approach that you have shown toward the Turkish Consulate General and toward me personally.

I truly believe that strong relationships between countries are built not only through governments and official institutions, but also through the relationships that people and communities build with one another.

And I hope that the bridges we have strengthened together over the past three years will continue to grow stronger in the years ahead.

Although my assignment in Houston has come to an end, my commitment to the friendship between Türkiye and Texas will certainly continue.

The Turkish Consulate General in Houston and Office of the Commercial Attaché stand ready to support companies from Texas interested in Türkiye, as well as Turkish companies seeking opportunities in Texas.

I would like to thank the Greater Houston Partnership and Turkish Investment and Finance Office once again for bringing our business communities together.

And to all our friends and partners here in Houston and across Texas, thank you for your friendship, your cooperation and your support over the past three years.

It has been a genuine honor and privilege to represent Türkiye here in Houston and to work with y’all.

Thank you very much.