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Turkish Press Review, 98-02-17
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
17.02.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] ICC ADVISES TURKEY TO FORM AN INSTITUTION FOR "INTERNATIONAL
MEDIATION"
[02] PRESIDENT CONFERS WITH MUBARAK ON IRAQ
[03] PRESIDENT DEMIREL TO VISIT FRANCE
[04] TURKEY TARGETS CHINESE CONSTRUCTION MARKET
[05] TURKEY'S EU STANCE
[06] US-TURKISH TIES
[07] ISRAELI EXPERT TO ADVISE ON INFLATION
[08] BLAIR'S IRAQ GUARANTEE
[09] CEM: "LET'S FIRST TALK"
[10] BURSA PLANE CRASH
[11] ADDITIONAL NATURAL GAS AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA
[12] TURCO-PAKISTANI COOPERATION
[13] TURKEY EMERGES AS LEADER IN CEMENT PRODUCTION
[14] ICC ADVISES TURKEY TO FORM AN INSTITUTION FOR "INTERNATIONAL
MEDIATION"
[15] TOURISM MINISTRY REVIVES 'SILKROAD' PROJECT
[16] TOURISM HEAVEN: TURKEY
[01] ICC ADVISES TURKEY TO FORM AN INSTITUTION FOR "INTERNATIONAL
MEDIATION"
[02] PRESIDENT CONFERS WITH MUBARAK ON IRAQ
President Suleyman Demirel conferred with the leaders of the Arab
countries, including his Egyptian counterpart, Husnu Mubarak, over the
phone on Saturday. Demirel and Mubarak exchanged concerns over a
possible military strike against Iraq and the grave consequences this
action could bring to neighbouring countries. Other high-level talks
will follow, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Necati Utkan said during a
weekly press conference yesterday, without giving details on these
future talks. Utkan said that Turkey was hopeful that UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan's visit to the region and his efforts may
ease the crisis. Demirel had earlier spoken with Jordan's King Hussein
on the matter.
Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz met with US Ambassador to Ankara Marc
Parris yesterday. It is reported that they exchanged views regarding
the Iraq crisis. /Sabah-Hurriyet/
[03] PRESIDENT DEMIREL TO VISIT FRANCE
President Suleyman Demirel will pay an official visit to France on
February 19-20, on the invitation of French President Jacques Chirac.
During his contacts with French officials, Demirel will discuss
bilateral relations, as well as issues of regional and international
importance. /Cumhuriyet/
[04] TURKEY TARGETS CHINESE CONSTRUCTION MARKET
In a concrete move towards enlarging its economic horizon in Asia,
Turkey has offered to launch construction projects in China, a proposal
that Beijing has welcomed. Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, who is
currently on an official visit to China, made the proposal during talks
with Chinese Foreign Trade and Economy Minister Wu Yi yesterday.
The parties agreed that Turkey should submit a project package to
China in 15 days, outlining specific construction projects. Yi noted
that China focused on the development of middle class housing, and
expressed hope that Turkish contractors would be chosen to carry out
their construction. The plans to launch Turkish Airlines (THY) flights
to Beijing and Shanghai were also presented to Chinese officials.
Yesterday, Cem also held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Qian
Qichen. Cem and Qichen discussed the continuing crisis in the Gulf, and
decided to intensify the information flow on the issue between their two
countries. /Milliyet-Sabah/
[05] TURKEY'S EU STANCE
Turkey will not alter its decision to cancel its previous dialogue
with the European Union (EU), but will move ahead with an extensive
effort to launch a new and different process of talks, State Minister
Sukru Sina Gurel said yesterday. "The government has decided to sever
its comprehensive and multidimensional dialogue with the EU due to the
bloc's discriminatory attitude towards Turkey at its Luxembourg summit.
This decision will be maintained if the EU does not revise its stance"
Gurel said in an opening speech at the second meeting of the EU
Coordination Council.
However, Gurel clarified his remarks by saying that the government
aimed to continue and improve its relations with the EU within the
framework of the 1995 Customs Union (CU) agreement. This depends on the
EU's fulfillment of its basic obligations under the agreement, he added.
In a related development, the Turco-EU Joint Customs Union Committee
gathered in Brussels yesterday. The committee discussed problems
arising from CU functions. /Cumhuriyet/
[06] US-TURKISH TIES
More than 500 Turkish businessmen, scholars, diplomats and
journalists will attend the 17th annual conference on US-Turkish
relations in Washington D.C. February 25-28, the president of the
Turkish-US Business Council declared yesterday. During the four-day
conference, members of the council will hold meetings with members of
the US Congress, and visit American think tanks, international
organizations and leading academics. /Cumhuriyet/
[07] ISRAELI EXPERT TO ADVISE ON INFLATION
An Israeli advisor to the World Bank, Prof.Nissan Liviatan, will
prepare a report on reducing inflation in Turkey. Liviatan, who met
with economy bureaucrats and State Minister Gunes Taner last week in
Ankara, suggests that inflation can be reduced to 10 % in 18 months.
/Sabah/
[08] BLAIR'S IRAQ GUARANTEE
British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday phoned Turkish Prime
Minister Mesut Yilmaz and gave guarantees to Turkey regarding Iraq's
territorial integrity. Blair said: "We attach importance to the
territorial integrity of Iraq. We do not want political integrity in
northern Iraq to be damaged. Furthermore, we want to carry on good
relations with our ally, Turkey". Yilmaz, for his part, recalled that
Turkey would not attend the European Conference. Yilmaz noted regarding
his talks with Blair that "They had some proposals to restore Turkish-EU
relations. They want relations to be normalized until the Cardiff
Summit. To this end, they will send a special envoy to Turkey".
/Milliyet-Hurriyet/
[09] CEM: "LET'S FIRST TALK"
In a statement to the Greek "Elefterotipiya" newspaper, Turkish
Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said: "Countries which cannot reach a
consensus of opinion, first hold meetings, and if they still cannot
reach agreement, then they apply to a court. Our basic aim is to meet,
discuss and try to solve the problems. Everything begins with
communication". Cem pointed out that a solution to Aegean problems
could be found through the 33rd UN article, which calls for peaceful
means for solving conflicts. Regarding the Cyprus issue, Cem said: "It
must be recognized that there are two equal states in Cyprus.
Otherwise, it will be very difficult to find a solution to the problem".
Cem also called on Greece to agree to mutual disarmament.
In his response to Cem's statement, Greek Foreign Minister
Theodoros Pangalos noted that he could come together with his Turkish
counterpart at any time, however the discussion of bilateral problems
was out of the question. He said that bilateral problems could be
solved only at the International Court of Justice. /Milliyet/
[10] BURSA PLANE CRASH
A Cessna C 421 type private plane, carrying cargo from Istanbul to
Bursa, crashed yesterday due to intense fog near the Village of
Dagyenice near Bursa. As a result of the crash, pilot Emin Aydin and
second pilot Celal Mehmet Agaoglu and his brother Sertac Agaoglu died.
/Hurriyet/
[11] ADDITIONAL NATURAL GAS AGREEMENT WITH RUSSIA
An agreement for additional Russian natural gas supplies will be
signed this week in Moscow. Energy and Natural Resources Minister
Cumhur Ersumer will go to Moscow today as the official guest of the
Russian Minister of Foreign Economic Relations. Ersumer's visit carries
importance from the standpoint of signing an agreement for an extra 8
billion cubic metres of natural gas. It is expected that during
Ersumer's visit, the Black Sea Pipeline and Baku-Ceyhan projects will
also be taken up. /Hurriyet/
[12] TURCO-PAKISTANI COOPERATION
Turkish and Pakistani officials met in the Pakistani capital of
Islamabad yesterday for the 11th term meeting of the Joint Commission
for economic and technical cooperation. During the meeting, a
cooperation protocol was signed. Turkey and Pakistan further agreed to
establish a joint marketing company to make exports to third countries.
/Cumhuriyet/
[13] TURKEY EMERGES AS LEADER IN CEMENT PRODUCTION
According to a report from the Union of Central Anatolian
Exporters' Unions, in 1995 Turkey produced 2.4 percent of world cement
production. In 1995, Turkey was the tenth largest cement producer in
the world, and in 1996 was ranked 8th with respect to volume of cement
production. In 1996, Turkey was the largest cement producer in Europe.
/Cumhuriyet/
[14] ICC ADVISES TURKEY TO FORM AN INSTITUTION FOR "INTERNATIONAL
MEDIATION"
General secretary of the International Chambers of Trade, (ICC),
Maria Livanos Cattaui, who has been visiting Turkey, yesterday gave a
message to the Turkish government. "If Turkey wants to increase
international investments, it should form an institution for
international mediation" said Cattaui, during meetings with Prime
Minister Mesut Yilmaz and State Minister Isin Celebi. She also
mentioned US complaints about the lack of an institution of this kind,
which so far has not been established in Turkey due to constitutional
reasons. /Hurriyet/
[15] TOURISM MINISTRY REVIVES 'SILKROAD' PROJECT
The historical and cultural 'silkroad' the commercial route linking
central Asia to Europe, continues to attract worldwide interest. In an
effort to promote tourism, the Tourism Ministry has prepared a project
aiming to revive the silkroad, the Anatolia news agency reported
yesterday. A tour organized by the ministry plans to introduce the
historical and cultural richness of the silkroad to local and foreign
tour operators and travel agencies. The tour will take place on 1-9
September.
[16] TOURISM HEAVEN: TURKEY
It is reported that a 14.65 % increase was achieved in the number
of tourists visiting Turkey in January compared to the corresponding
period last year. According to a statement made by the Tourism
Ministry, in January people coming from the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) topped the list, while German tourists ranked second and
Roamanian tourists ranked third. /Sabah/
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