ANKARA - Mongolian President Natsagiyn Bagabandi has started his formal meetings in Ankara.
Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer welcomed Bagabandi at the Presidential Palace on Thursday.
Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc, State Minister Besir Atalay, State Minister Guldal Aksit, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Minister Sami Guclu and other officials attended the official welcome ceremony.
Following the ceremony, Sezer and Bagabandi made statements to reporters.
President Sezer expressed his pleasure with seeing Bagabandi and his entourage in Turkey.
Recalling that it was Bagabandi's second visit to Turkey, Sezer said that he believed Bagabandi's visit would contribute to further consolidation of friendly and brotherhood relations between Turkey and Mongolia, which had roots deep in history.
Noting that he thought it was very meaningful that Bagabandi's visit came on the 35th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Mongolia, Sezer said, ''Mr. President and I will focus on possible steps to further improve our cooperation by discussing all aspects of relations between Turkey and Mongolia. Mr. President and I will also exchange our opinions on regional and international issues that closely concern both countries.''
Stating that Turkish-Mongolian relations had swiftly developed and spread to every field in last decade, President Sezer said that the development was achieved on basis of historical, traditional and cultural ties that had 3,00 years of history, adding that he believed bilateral relations with friendly Mongolia would further improve in parallel to common interests.
Meanwhile, Bagabandi said he was very pleased to be in Turkey.
Recalling that it was his second visit to Turkey as the Mongolian President, Bagabandi said that bilateral relations of the two countries had significantly improved since his first visit six years ago.
Bagabandi stressed that President Sezer's visit to Mongolia in 2002 had accelerated bilateral relations.
Noting that agreement that would be signed during his visit would contribute to development of bilateral relations, Bagabandi added that their basic target was to enhance relations between Turkey and Mongolia. Later, Sezer and Bagabandi held a tete-a-tete meeting.
(MS-AY) 29.04.2004