Turkey- America Civil Aviation Conference begins in Izmir

Turkey-America Civil Aviation Conference began in the western province of Izmir on Wednesday. Speaking at the conference, Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Binali Yildirim said that the participating countries would share their experiences with each other in Izmir. "We will evaluate the point where civil aviation has arrived globally and try to shape future aviation policies," Yildirim stressed. "We can not establish a global civil aviation vision with the participation of 8-10 countries. We need to liberalize the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and open it up to the whole world," Yildirim also said. Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Fehmi Koru also delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of Turkey-America Civil Aviation Conference and stated that Turkish foreign policy accomplished an effective structure on a global scale. Stating that the e-visa implementation brought to life with their cooperation with Turkish Airlines (THY) covered 94 countries, Koru said, "We have made it possible to get visa online, in just a few minutes." CEO of Turkish Airlines Temel Kotil stated that Turkey ranked 6th according to tourism data and added THY was selected Europe's best airline. Kotil also reminded that THY carried 46 million passengers in 2013 and ordered 260 new planes to join their fleet of 270 planes.