Turkish Environment And Forestry Minister Returns To Turkey

ISTANBUL - Turkish Environment and Forestry Minister Osman Pepe returned from the United States, where he attended sustainable development meetings held by the United Nations (U.N.), to Turkey on Saturday.
Pepe told reporters at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport that he went to the United States between April 28 and 30 with an accompanying delegation to attend the sustainable development meetings organized by the U.N.
Around 100 ministers from several countries attended the meetings, Pepe said.
Pepe noted that representatives of European Union (EU) and the United States also participated in the meetings.
This meeting was a successor of the sustainable development meeting held in Johannesburg in 2002, Pepe stated.
Pepe said that potable water in the world, environment and settlement were issues debated during the meetings.
Developed and strong countries with big economies had made some promises to poor countries in the sustainable development meetings held since the Johannesburg summit, Pepe pointed out.
Pepe said that commitment of those developed countries to allocate sources to poor countries in order to help them obtain healthy environment and potable water were suspended at a certain extent.
They could see that those developed countries and strong economies had not kept their promises, Pepe noted.
Pepe said that demands of some African, South American and Far Eastern countries and point of views and expectations of developed countries were very different from each other.
He had made a presentation on Turkey's last 15-year initiatives about potable water and housing policies, Pepe noted.
Pepe said that those were projects which could be an example for many countries.
Turkish Environment and Forestry Minister Pepe guessed that Turkish government's project aiming at construction of 100 thousand dwellings in 2004 was one of the most important item of agenda discussed at the U.N. General Assembly.
Pepe said that if Turkish government could make use of conditions together with local administrations, Turkey could become one of the luckiest countries in the world.
Turkey, which had sources, capacity and many entrepreneurs, would take its place in the world in case it was administered in line with its potential, Pepe added.
Pepe left Turkey for the United States on April 27.
(BRC) 02.05.2004