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Turkish Press Review, 09-05-29Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr>Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning29.05.2009CONTENTS
[01] GUL ADDRESSES KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTAs part of his three-day official visit to Kyrgyzstan, President Abdullah Gul yesterday addressed the Jokorgu Kenesh, the Kyrgyz Parliament in Bishkek. In his speech, President Gul said that Kyrgyzstan and Turkey should act as a team in Central Asia and boost their cooperation in all areas. Stressing that the Eurasian geopolitics will determine global balances in the 21st century, Gul said, "On the western end of this geopolitics is Turkey, while Kyrgyzstan is situated on the northern end of this region. Turkey is a NATO member and currently continuing accession talks with the EU. Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). We consider such connections between the two countries as the characteristics highly conducive to boosting and deepening cooperation ties between Turkey and Kyrgyzstan, not limiting them. You are represented in Europe through us, and we're represented in the CIS and the SCO through you. I believe this is important. Turkey and Kyrgyzstan together can play a key role in integration of Europe and Asia." Gul praised the Jokorgu Kenesh, which he said had the potential to lead the democratic development of Central Asia. Gul yesterday also visited the Kyrgyzstan-Turkey Manas University, where he was greeted by a group of students wearing traditional clothes, and attended a ceremony to open a new building at the International Ataturk-Alatoo University (IAAU), where he was greeted by Rector Erol Oral and a group of students. Gul opened up the building for service at a ceremony accompanied by Kyrgyz State Secretary Nuruulu Dosbol and Education Minister Abdilda Musayev. “Kyrgyzstan is our ancestral homeland. We felt home and in our ancestral homeland, while we have been in Kyrgyzstan,” Gul said in a speech he delivered at the IAAU, which was founded in 1996. “What matters is not only opening universities, schools, but being in a big competition in education with other schools, and everyone should compete with each other in this competition. It should be a means for reaching a higher educational standard. I'm greatly happy to see that the Ataturk-Alatoo University has an important place in this competition. I congratulate the university administration.” After completing his talks in Bishkek, Gul proceeded to Tajikistan for another official visit. /Turkiye/[02] STATE MINISTER ARINC VISITS ICELANDState Minister Bulent Arinc yesterday met with Turkish citizens in Reykjavik, Iceland. Arinc will attend the first Media and New Communication Services Ministers Conference held by the European Council today. /Hurriyet Daily News/[03] GEN. BASBUG TO VISIT USChief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug will visit the US over the weekend as the official guest of his US counterpart Gen. Michael Mullen. Basbug will also attend the 28th Annual Conference on US-Turkish Relations which is set to begin on Sunday. /Cumhuriyet/BABACAN: "TURKEY WILL BE A MAJOR ECONOMIC POWER BY 2023" Speaking at a conference entitled "Toward the Turkey of 2023 from the Global Financial and Economic Crisis," organized by the Forum Istanbul yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan said, "Signs of recovery in the global economy have become more obvious recently but it is still too early to know whether these signs will be permanent." Stating that the world economy is passing through one of the hardest times it has ever seen, Babacan said, "The problems in international financial markets accompanied by a slowing global economy, sharp drops in demand and production, and contraction in liquidity are affecting Turkey's economy as well. This was unavoidable, considering the level of Turkey's integration with the global economy." But Babacan spoke very hopeful about Turkey's economic performance for the post-crisis period. “When all this mess is over, Turkey will be among the countries with the least amount of debt and the lowest ratio of debt over gross domestic product. Most probably, Turkey will be one of the ten most developed economies of the world by 2023," Babacan said. Touching on the government's efforts to cushion the impact of crisis on Turkey's economy, Babacan said all the relevant institutions are carefully watching the reflections of the global crisis on the Turkish economy, and added that the central bank and the government have not hesitated to take the necessary steps to alleviate the effects of crisis, whenever necessary. The government has launched numerous measures to boost production, employment and consumption and to ensure the continued operation of credit markets, he stressed. Former First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Anne Krueger, Kemal Dervis, the head of the Akbank international advisory board and the former head of the UN Development Program, and high-level economy officials and business figures also attended the meeting. /Sabah/ [04] YILDIZ ATTENDS THE ENERGY MEETING IN IRAQEnergy Minister Taner Yildiz yesterday attended the meeting in Baghdad, Iraq, with Iranian Energy Minister Parviz Fatah and Iraqi Electricity Minister Karim Wahid al-Hasan also in attendance. Regional cooperation on energy and electricity, and oil and gas deals between the countries were discussed during the meeting. /Today's Zaman/[05] TURKISH BUSINESS DELEGATION HOLDS TALKS IN KOSOVAA delegation, led by State Minister for Foreign Trade Zafer Caglayan, yesterday proceeded to Pristina, Kosova after completing their talks in Macedonia. Speaking to reporters after holding talks with Kosovar enterprisers, Caglayan defined their visit as fruitful and said that they made important trade connections. /Aksam/[06] TUSIAD DELEGATION TOURS CABINET MEMBERSA Turkish Businessmen's and Industrialists' Association (TUSIAD) delegation led by Chairwoman Arzuhan Yalcındag yesterday held talks with Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek, State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Education Minister Nimet Cubukcu and Labor and Social Security Minister Omer Dincer, first Afterwards, Yalcındag said that they had discussed the latest developments on economy, domestic and international issues. /Milliyet/FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… FROM THE COLUMNS… [07] PROXIMITY OF VIEWS IN TURKISH-US RELATIONSBY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)Columnist Sami Kohen comments on a three-day conference to be held by Istanbul's Bahcesehir University on the Turkish-US relations. A summary of his column is as follows: "Istanbul's Bahcesehir University is hosting an important conference on Turkish-US relations today. The distinguished diplomats and academics from the US will discuss the relations comprehensively and make projections about the future, along with their Turkish colleagues in the three-day conference, organized by the American Researches Center of the university. This conference will give the opportunity of make more healthy evaluations about the course of Turkish-US relations, after Barack Obama was elected president and visited Turkey. Following the difficulties caused by the Bush era, people started to hope that a closer agreement will be reached between Ankara and Washington and the 'partnership' which was defined with various adjectives (such as 'strategic') in the past will be based on more real foundations. Indeed, the new president' world view which is different than his predecessor and his willingness for making important changes in foreign politics has opened a new perspective in Turkish-US relations. As a matter of fact, there is proximity of views between Ankara and Washington on regional issues which particularly concern us. Let's start with the Middle East. Obama has taken a different stance than Bush about the Issue and gave the message to Tehran that it was ready for dialogue with a new opening. Ankara has been adopting and suggesting this stance to the US since the very beginning. The US has also displayed a similar change of stance about the Syrian issue and taken the first step to normalize its relations with Damascus. This situation is also in line with the policy followed by Turkey. Obama also brought new dimensions to the US' policies about the Palestinian issue. On the one hand, it favors the solution of 'two states,' and on the other, it treats Israel more distantly than in previous years. This development is more harmonious with Turkey's stance. Finally, the US' adoption of a withdrawal calendar about the Iraq issue and the importance that it places on Iraq's territorial integrity provide the proximity of views with Turkey greatly. The cooperation between the two countries is getting stronger about the situation on northern Iraq and the struggle against the PKK. As for the Caucasus, there is fundamental agreement between Ankara and Washington about protecting Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and initiating the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia. The same thing can be said about Afghanistan (and now for Pakistan). Looking at the picture, one can get the impression that Turkey and the US have similar views on certain issues. But once the strategies followed by the US and Turkey on these issues are deeply analyzed, certain differences can be seen. Obama has made an opening about the Iran issue, but he also stated that he wouldn't be able to wait forever about the nuclear program issue. Unless a development occurs, Obama might bring forward the issue of sanction and similar options towards the end of the year. How will Turkey, which is a Security Council member, act at that time? The US adopts the principle of 'two states' about the Palestinian issue, but it considers only the Mahmoud Abbas regime as legitimate on behalf of Palestine and regards Hamas as a terrorist organization, as opposed to Turkey. It stipulates that it ends its support for terrorist organizations for normal relations with Syria. Similarly, once the issue is deeply analyzed, there are certain differences in two countries' strategies on other regional issues as well. Today these differences don't create an impact on relations (and even the cooperation), but if a crisis occurs in these problems, distresses might also emerge in relations." Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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