IZMIR - Culture, Art and Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir bin Sheikh Fadzir of Malaysia said on Saturday that there were not threats of acts of violence, terrorism and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in his country.
Malaysian dancers and musicians displayed a performance in western province of Izmir under the campaign of ''True Asia: Malaysia''.
Holding a press conference prior to the performance, Culture, Art and Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir bin Sheikh Fadzir of Malaysia said that Malaysia was a country in which civilizations of Asia met with each other.
''Malaysia is a peaceful country. We do not have threats of acts of violence, terrorism and SARS in our country. Some Malaysian citizens visited the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong. Two of them died. But, we do not know whether SARS caused their demise. There is a great distance between Malaysia and the People's Republic of China. SARS virus cannot come to Malaysia easily,'' he said.
''I will hold talks with travel agencies in Malaysia. I will ask them to take Malaysian tourists to Turkey. Our citizens know Istanbul. But there are many other places in Turkey to visit,'' he said.
Recalling that he held talks with Tourism and Culture Minister Erkan Mumcu to improve bilateral relations between Turkey and Malaysia, Sheikh Fadzir said, ''Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay a visit to Malaysia in the coming days. All these developments are the signs of a new era in relations between Turkey and Malaysia.''
(UK-MS) 01.06.2003