Turkish-U.S. economic relations better than ever, U.S. commerce official says

IZMIR (A.A) - December 7, 2011 - A senior official from the U.S. Department of Commerce has praised trade relations between Turkey and the United States, saying trade ties were "better than ever." "Our economic relations have never been this good before. Bilateral trade increased 45 percent over the last couple of years thanks to efforts of government officials and businesspeople of our respective countries," Michael C. Camunez, U.S. assistant secretary of commerce for market access and compliance, told the Anadolu Agency in Izmir, the first stop of his four-day visit in Turkey.        Camunez said Turkey was one of the six countries in the world and only one in European Union region the U.S. government had designated as "a country of priority" for U.S. investments abroad. "Turkey builds up on its attraction for global investors with its strong leadership, banking system, democracy and rapidly-growing economy," Camunez said.  Camunez said over a dozen U.S. energy companies accompanied him on his Turkey visit, adding that the companies had vast expertise in renewable energy and energy efficiency.   The U.S. official added a group of representatives from U.S. aviation companies planned to pay a visit to Turkey in 2012 to explore business opportunities.