National Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz and the USA Defense Minister Leon E. Panetta gave speeches during the dinner. Both ministers drew attention to the diversification achieved in the Turkish-American relations and emphasized the importance of the economic facet of the relations between the two countries.

Making the introduction for the National Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz, TOBB-DEİK President m. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu touched on İsmet Yılmaz’s pragmatic and solution oriented approach and the importance he puts on relations with the business world.
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