WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of an ongoing program to connect U.S. businesses with opportunities to drive climate solutions abroad, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce successfully hosted a U.S. Commerce Department certified GreenTech mission to Istanbul and Ankara last week.
The mission, led by Chamber Senior Vice President of Policy Marty Durbin and Executive Director of the Chamber’s U.S.-Türkiye Business Council Jennifer Miel, was a partnership between the Chamber, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), and the U.S. Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and U.S. Department of Commerce.
This strategic mission assembled a delegation comprising 20 prominent U.S. and Turkish companies, alongside U.S. government officials, all dedicated to advancing green technology and sustainable development initiatives. The visit built on the momentum from the historic COP28 in Dubai in which the Chamber hosted the largest ever U.S. business delegation to a U.N. climate conference, and U.S.-Türkiye Business Council discussions with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the 2023 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
“The business community is all-in on accelerating investment in the global energy transition, and the Chamber ‘s GreenTech missions have already connected hundreds of businesses with opportunities in Egypt, Brazil, the UAE and now Türkiye,” said Durbin. The Mission to Türkiye featured high-level participation from Turkish officials and identified continued areas for collaboration between the U.S. and Türkiye.
The mission began with a Green Tech Business Forum discussing financing opportunities and regional cooperation in green technologies, including wind, solar, geothermal, and nuclear. Following the forum in Istanbul, the delegation proceeded to Ankara for consultations with Turkish government officials, including the Vice President of Türkiye Cevdet Yılmaz, Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek, and Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır. These meetings underscored the mission's high-level engagement strategy to accelerate bilateral cooperation in green tech industries and advocate for a U.S.-Türkiye Energy and Climate Dialogue, focused on government-to-government policy mechanism with private sector input.
“We welcome warmly the U.S.-Türkiye Business Council’s trade delegation of 20 clean tech American firms, in partnership with the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC) and its Senior Adviser, Ambassador Thorne. As this delegation demonstrates, the governments and private sectors of the United States and Türkiye are partners in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and bolstering climate resilience,” said Jeffry L. Flake, Ambassador of the United States to Türkiye.
“Our success in tackling the climate crisis requires the full and sustained engagement of the private sector. This GreenTech Mission has accelerated public-private partnerships here in Türkiye that are critical for achieving our shared objectives,” said Ambassador David Thorne, Senior Advisor to the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.
The U.S. Chamber was joined by an interagency delegation of U.S. government officials led by the U.S. Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC) with representatives from the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Development Finance Corporation and U.S. Trade and Development Agency. This collaboration highlights the mission's comprehensive approach, combining policy dialogue with practical support for green technology projects, including technical support and financial assistance.
"This mission represents a landmark opportunity to bridge U.S. innovation in green technologies with Türkiye's robust industrial base, talented human capital and sustainability goals," said Jennifer Miel, Executive Director of the U.S.-Türkiye Business Council.
The value of the Chamber’s GreenTech Mission program was on display at COP28, as several startups that participated in the Chamber’s UAE mission reported on progress that had been made as a result of their participation. Read more here.
About U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.- Türkiye Business Council
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-Türkiye Business Council is the premiere vehicle for dialogue and engagement between American and Turkish business and government decision-makers. The Council works to enhance two-way trade and investment between the United States and Türkiye and to promote the bilateral economic relationship at the highest levels of business and government in both countries. The U.S.-Türkiye Business Council launched in 2013 with then Prime Minister of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and former Vice President of the United States Joseph Biden.
