Speeches

Remarks by Ambassador Edelman at a Signing Ceremony with World Bank and Treasury Officials

Monday, Febuary 7, 2005

Under Secretariat of the Treasury

Undersecretary Çanakçı, Country Director Vorkink, representatives of the Turkish Social Solidarity Fund, it is a great pleasure to be here today for this important event. 

The United States is very pleased to be able to contribute $9 million to the World Bank to be used in support of the Conditional Cash Transfer component of the Social Solidarity Fund's Social Risk Mitigation Project.   We admire the work of the Social Solidarity Fund, which is working through local foundations and schools--people who best know the local families--to ensure that all the children of Turkey have access to basic education.  Increasing enrolment rates for students from poor families and, in particular, increasing enrolment rates for girls are critical objectives that Turkey has defined for itself, and that we are delighted to support. 

These are also critical objectives in my country.  As President Bush noted in his State of the Union address last week, improving the quality of education in the United States is a top priority for our government.  We agree wholeheartedly with Turkey's leaders that in today's world no child can be left behind.  As in Turkey, our focus at home is on improving low-income schools and preparing our children for the future with the skills they need to succeed in the changing economy.  An educated citizen is more likely to hold a good job, to escape poverty, to own a home, to start a business, to be free from crime, and to participate in democracy. 

As they do in the United States, Turkey's poorest families need help as they struggle to make ends meet.  Two of the world's fastest growing economies, the United States and Turkey also share the belief that only through ongoing reforms will strong, stable economies provide an environment in which individuals can realize their potential and improve their lives.  We are all aware that economic growth in Turkey is robust, and that the dedicated work of the Under Secretariat of the Treasury has been instrumental in making this happen.  We also realize it can take time for ordinary people to feel the benefits of strong economic growth.  In the meantime, it's good to be able to help the very poorest.  As a grant, the U.S. money we are signing over today will go directly to such families.  I hope in the next few days to visit a school in a neighborhood in which some of the beneficiary families live.  I am very much looking forward to meeting some of these children.  

I would also like to take this opportunity to commend Mr. Vorkink and the World Bank for their support to the Turkish government in a wide variety of fields, including energy, banking, and agriculture as well as education and poverty reduction.  The Bank's global expertise is an invaluable resource for the whole world, and as the Bank's largest single shareholder, the US is very proud to be a part of it. 

There is a long history of friendship and cooperation between the peoples of the United States and of Turkey that dates back to well before the foundation of the Republic.  Our cooperation, both public and private, has been especially notable in the field of education.  Two dedicated Americans founded Robert College in Istanbul in 1863.  Tarsus American College was founded in the 1880s, and the American Hospital in Gaziantep has been a major institution for medical training in the South East since the early 20th century.  The United States Agency for International Development, which is represented here today by Mr. Thomas Mefford, was active throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s in cooperating with the people of Turkey to build schools and hospitals and to improve agricultural productivity.  The time is long past when Turkey requires such support, and it is gratifying to note that today Turkey is contributing to the development of the world's most afflicted places, such as in the public's recent reaction to the tsunami disaster. 

When he came to Turkey last June, President Bush recalled the friendship and alliance of our two countries.  Just yesterday, Secretary Rice was able to do the same with President Sezer, Prime Minister Erdoğan and Deputy Prime Minister Gül.  We are indeed working together in many ways to make the world a safer, better place.  But in a way, today's event is even more significant for the long term than those short visits in that today we mark the friendship between people, which is after all the only true basis for cooperation among democratic countries.   

I'll conclude by thanking İbrahim Bey and his colleagues at the Turkish Treasury for their cooperation and for hosting this ceremony.   

In conclusion, I am reminded of Atatürk's many comments on the importance of education, and particularly of education for women.  Today, he might have said "Haydi Kızlar Okula!"  We are happy to be part of this important movement.  

Thank you.