WASHINGTON D.C., March 18 (A.A) - U.S. President George W. Bush said on Sunday that he was grateful to President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and Turkish nation for extending support to the United States in the wake of the terrorist attacks on twin towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York on September 11, 2001.
U.S. President Bush sent a message to mark opening of the 21st annual conference of the American-Turkish Council (ATC).
In his message, President Bush expressed his gratitude to President Sezer, Prime Minister Ecevit and Turkish nation for extending support to the United States in the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11.
He said that Turkey's cooperation in the international fight against terrorism, as the only Muslim member of NATO, reminded them the fact that Turkey had always been together with the United States for the last five decades.
Bush said that Turkey, as a secular country in which Muslims chose to embrace both their religious belief and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's democracy ideals and in which traditions and modern culture coexisted, was an hopeful alternative against radicalism and intolerance.
Stressing that Turkey had been taking important steps toward economic welfare, Bush said Turkey's implementing economic reform programme helped the country to stable its financial situation and to prepare sustainable growth.
Thanking the ATC members for expending efforts in order to strengthen friendly and commercial relations between Turkey and the United States, Bush said that their efforts constituted an important forum to set up closer relations between Turkish and American businessmen.
State Minister Kemal Dervis for Economy, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Zeki Cakan, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Marc Grossman attend the three-day conference.