SEOUL - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that a solution to the Cyprus issue depended not only on efforts by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side and also Greece and the Greek Cypriot side should be willing and determined to reach a just and lasting solution until May 1.
President Moo-Hyun Roh of South Korea welcomed Prime Minister Erdogan late on Sunday.
Following a tete-a-tete meeting of Roh and Erdogan, Turkish and South Korean delegations held a meeting.
State Minister Kursat Tuzmen, Industry and Trade Minister Ali Coskun, several deputies and Erdogan`s advisors attended the meeting.
Sources said that Erdogan stated at the meeting that there had been historical friendship ties between Turkish and South Korean peoples despite the geographical distance between the two countries
Stressing that there was not any problem between Turkey and South Korea, Erdogan said that Turkey and South Korea which were situated in areas that were different from each other geostrategically but had similar importance shared same ideals and values.
Erdogan noted that basic aim of his visit was to seek opportunities of bringing bilateral relations to a level reflecting common will of the Turkish and South Korean peoples and to make use of their experiences.
Inviting South Korean President Roh to Turkey, Erdogan said that his visit would be the first ever visit that a South Korean President paid to Turkey.
Noting that bilateral economic and commercial relations did not reflect the existing potential, Erdogan said that there was a serious commercial deficit against Turkey.
Erdogan said that Turkey`s basic target in coming period would be the decision on opening accession talks with the European Union (EU).
Stressing that Turkey had become an attractive country for foreign investors, Erdogan said that Korean investors should benefit from those opportunities.
Explaining his opinions about international developments, Erdogan said that situation in Afghanistan and Iraq was still serious and the Middle East could not save itself from atmosphere of terrorism and violence.
Noting that September 11 attacks and developments after them in addition to terrorism problem had caused discussions of difference of understanding between Islam and the West to be a new and important issue, Erdogan said that Turkey had been expending efforts to contribute to regional peace and stability in Afghanistan, Iraq, Middle East and Caucasus.
Stating that Turkey targeted relations purified from all problems with its all neighboring countries, Erdogan said they stressed that Islam and traditions were in harmony with modernization.
Stressing that Turkey`s EU membership would make a significant contribution to prevention of clash among civilizations, Erdogan said that Turkey made a call for reforms, democracy, respect to human rights, better management and transparency in the Islam world.
Stating that the crisis due to North Korea`s nuclear program was serious, Erdogan said Turkey clearly expressed its coherent attitude against proliferation of mass destruction weapons and their launching devices in all international platforms. Erdogan stressed that Turkey was a side to all international agreements and regimes regarding the issue.
Stressing that North Korea`s withdrawing from convention on prevention of nuclear proliferation was a serious development which they did not approve of, Erdogan said that he supported South Korea`s policy to bring North Korea to a reasonable line.
Regarding the Cyprus issue, Erdogan said that Turkey was in favor of finding a just and lasting solution in Cyprus before May 1, 2004.
Noting that Turkey supported U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan`s good will mission, Erdogan said that he had same opinions about Cyprus with both Annan and U.S. President George W. Bush. Erdogan said Annan and Bush welcomed and supported the initiative launched by Turkey for resumption of Cyprus talks.
Stressing that both TRNC President Rauf Denktas and the new TRNC government had such a political will, Erdogan said that at the meeting held in Ankara on February 4, Turkey and the TRNC had affirmed their common target of reaching a fair and lasting peace in the island and stressed their powerful support to the U.N. Secretary General`s efforts.
Noting that they had always stated that they were ready to work with Annan to make fair and reasonable changes to Annan`s plan, Erdogan said that Annan had sent letters to relevant sides in Cyprus, calling them to New York on February to revive negotiations.
Stating that they had evaluated those letters with the Turkish Cypriot authorities, Erdogan said that a solution to the Cyprus issue depended not only on efforts by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side and also Greece and the Greek Cypriot side should be willing and determined to reach a just and lasting solution until May 1.

ERDOGAN MEETS WITH SEOUL MAYOR
Erdogan visited Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak.
After his tete-a-tete meeting with Lee Myung-bak, Erdogan attended a ceremony in which he was given the title of honorary fellow countryman of Seoul.
Erdogan said that he had known how close Turkey and South Korea, and Ankara and Seoul were before his visit to that country.
He and Lee Myung-bak agreed to further improve relations between Ankara and Seoul, Erdogan noted.
Erdogan stated that he knew that officials of two municipalities were often visiting each other and sharing their experiences.
But, they should work to pay such visits more often and to carry out joint projects, Erdogan pointed out.
Erdogan said, ``there is big geographical distance between our countries. But, as this friendship is strong, there is not any distance which can`t be overtaken. We expect to see South Korean people in Ankara soon. There is a Korean Park in Ankara. Your visit will be a good opportunity to reconsider initiatives to be launched in order to make this park more beautiful.``
ERDOGAN MEETS WITH BUSINESS CIRCLES IN SOUTH KOREA
Erdogan firstly had lunch with business circles in South Korea and then attended a meeting of Turkish-South Korean Business Council.
Speaking in the meeting, Erdogan said that the government was determined to maintain atmosphere of confidence and stability.
Erdogan noted that economic measures in practice had started to yield positive outcome in a short time.
Turkey had become an attractive place for foreign investors, Erdogan stated.
Erdogan said that the law which was put into practice in July 2003 had made Turkish and foreign investors equal.
A secure and stable atmosphere had been provided in Turkey for foreign investors, Erdogan pointed out.
Erdogan said that there were 21 free trade zones in Turkey and the trade volume in those zones had reached 11.1 billion U.S. dollars.
Turkey had attached importance to privatization to reach economic targets, Erdogan stated.
Erdogan said, ``Turkey sees private sector the dynamic and motivative force of economy. We wish to decrease share of public sector in economy as much as possible and to make private sector have a dominant and more active role in economy. Therefore, we attach great importance to privatization.``
Turkey wanted to speed up privatization including the privatization of state-run Tobacco and Liquor Administration (TEKEL), Turk Telekom, Turkish Oil Refineries Corp. (TUPRAS) and Petrochemistry Holding (Petkim), Erdogan said.
Erdogan noted that economic and commercial relations between Turkey and South Korea were not at the desired level.
He could see big cooperation opportunities between Turkey and South Korea when he considered the economic and commercial potential of the two countries, Erdogan stated.
Erdogan said that trade volume between the two countries was 1 billion 71 million 539 thousand U.s. dollars as of January-October 2003.
Turkey`s imports from South Korea totaled 1 billion 23 million 103 thousand U.S. dollars and its exports to that country amounted to 48 million 436 thousand U.S. dollars, Erdogan pointed out.
Erdogan said that South Korea had made 325 million U.S. dollars of investments in Turkey.
Calling on South Korean businessmen to make efficient use of business opportunities between the two countries, Erdogan expressed belief that holding regular Turkish-South Korean Business Council meetings from now on would accelerate economic and commercial relations.
Erdogan called on South Korean businessmen to invest in Turkey.
Noting that contracting service was one of cornerstones of Turkish economy, Erdogan said that Turkish and South Korean businessmen could cooperate in third countries.
Erdogan said that cooperation of two countries in contracting services during reconstruction process of Iraq would be beneficial.
Turkey had significant investments in Russia and Central Asian republics, Erdogan stated.
Erdogan noted that Turkey was ready for cooperation with South Korea also in those countries.
``We know that our friendship which started during 1950 Korean War improved with Korean people`s sensitivity about 1999 quake disaster in Turkey. Half of Korean spectators were supporting Turkey and the rest were supporting Korea during the 2002 World Cup. Two countries had given a very important message to the world hand in hand at the end of the match. We want this message to be showed openly and clearly also in economy. I have seen that not only Turkish, but also Korean businessmen share these feelings,`` Erdogan added.
(BRC-AÖ) 09.02.2004