Visible signs of international trends of the last few decades are spectacularly evident in Turkey.

The current administration, while better known for its alleged Islamist leanings, has been working as hard as it can to open Turkey’s borders to international business. An example is the recent simplification of doing business in this country. It currently takes approximately one to two WEEKS to open a new business here, assuming the appropriate steps have been taken and information gathered to proceed. There are many English-speaking attorneys and consultants available to expedite the process, both in Istanbul, the business center of Turkey, and Ankara, the country’s capital.
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When speaking of Syria, “cute” isn’t a word that normally comes to mind.  But at about the size of North Dakota, about 20,000,000 people, and friendly people with no money, cute works, somehow.

Just about the only country showing any genuine new interest in Syria lately is the Republic of Turkey.  Along with the recent dropping of visa requirements between the two countries, Turkey has recently initiated discussions with the aim of renewed (and much closer) trading ties with its tiny neighbor.  Syria’s current president, Bashar Assad, seems very open to strengthening ties to his moderate Sunni Moslem brothers to the North, no doubt feeling more comfortable with a country with which Syria shares so much history and culture.  A relatively new country, Syria was long a part of the Ottoman Empire, and was a crucial link to some of its more far-flung possessions.

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