ROTTERDAM - Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul has said, ''improvement of our relations with the European Union (EU) will contribute to efforts to resolve problems of Turkish workers in Europe.''
Gul attended a meeting in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on Saturday on the occasion of the 40th occasion of migration of Turkish workers to the Netherlands.
Speaking at the meeting, Gul said, ''the position of Turkish workers in Europe has become permanent in the course of time. Although we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of migration of Turkish workers to the Netherlands, Turkish workers' integration with the Dutch society had a history of 20 years.''
''We should not consider this integration a process of losing their own culture and language. We should remember that integration is essential in today's modern world of common values. On the other hand, I want to stress that we attribute great importance to preservation of cultural diversity. As a result, we have been supporting efforts of integration, we have been opposing to assimilation,'' he said.
Gul said that the Netherlands had tolerated different cultures so far and considered cultural diversity an element of power.
Giving information about Turkey's efforts in its EU membership process, Gul said, ''Turkey's getting a date for opening of accession talks with the EU during the EU term presidency of the Netherlands will accelerate 40-year relations between Turkey and the EU.''
He highlighted importance of preventing misunderstandings and assessments stemming from lack of information about Turkey's progress towards the EU.
Referring to the bilateral relations between Turkey and the Netherlands, Gul said, ''we are determined to further improve our bilateral relations with the Netherlands. I believe that Turkish people living in the Netherlands will contribute to further improvement of our bilateral relations and continue to play their bridgelike role.''
(UK-MS) 04.04.2004