AGENDA OF THE MEETING

BRUSSELS - Presidents, prime ministers, ministers and civilian and military officials from the 26 member countries, and 20 states cooperating with the alliance will join the NATO's Istanbul summit to be held in Istanbul between June 28 and 29.
This will be the 17th summit in 55-year history of the Alliance.
Defense ministers of NATO member countries will meet on June 27 prior to the summit.
NATO summit will start on June 28 with the speeches of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.
Representatives of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia, who newly attended the Alliance, will for the first time join a NATO meeting.
Progress recorded in various areas since the Prague summit held at the end of 2002 and discussion of new assignments of the alliance are expected to be reviewed. What could be done in the future is expected to be determined in the NATO summit, as well.
Heads of government and state will take up several important files mainly Afghanistan and Iraq.
Fight against terrorism, stability in the Balkans, modernization of NATO force structures, and broadening cooperation with non-NATO member partners are among the agenda topics of the summit.
NATO Secretary General's Representative for Afghanistan Hikmet Cetin will also participate the summit. Cetin's term in office, which will expire in July, is expected to be extended.
-EURO-ATLANTIC PARTNERSHIP COUNCIL MEETING-
As 26 Alliance members and 20 partners will meet at Euro-Atlantic Council meeting, foreign ministers of Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina will join the meeting as observers.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai will also be present at the first session of Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council meeting.
NATO, which aims to focus on Central Asia and Caucasus, will adopt a document in Istanbul on this issue and give green light to developing of joint activities with regional countries.
-MEDITERRANEAN DIALOGUE-
NATO, which already had a dialogue with Mediterranean countries such as Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Mauritania, Jordan and Israel within the scope of a process initiated in 1994, will undertake a new action to increase dialogue with Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait.
Cooperation opportunities in defense and security areas will be presented to the countries in question in line with the proposals of the United States and Britain within the scope of Greater Middle East Initiative.
-NATO-RUSSIA COUNCIL-
On the other hand the rejection by the Russia President Vladimir Putin to assist the summit has created some trouble within the NATO-Russian Council, it was stated.
-JOINT COMMUNIQUE-
NATO summit will end with a joint communique apart from a document that will be issued on Iraq. This statement will include items concerning the fight against terrorism; Afghanistan; Balkans; developments in defense abilities of the Alliance; relations with Russia and Ukraine; fight against proliferation of the weapons of mass destruction.
-ACTIVITIES OF THE SUMMIT-
On the sidelines of the summit, ''NATO at a new turning point'' conference will take place in Ciragan on June 25 and 26.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Afghan President Hamid Karzai will also address the conference.
A ''Youth Summit'' held by American Atlantic Council and some youth organizations in Turkey will take place in Ciragan between June 27 and 28.
Also, there will be an exhibition in Press Center arranged by NATO Science Committee.
NATO Science Award will be presented to Turkey this year for the researches carried out by three Turkish universities about earthquakes.
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer will present the award to Turkish State Minister Besir Atalay on June 27.
-ZERO MISTAKE, ZERO RISK-
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between NATO Secretariat and the Foreign Ministry of Turkey, the host country.
Within the context of the summit, Istanbul will welcome more than 6500 persons, including heads of state and governments.
''The transportation will be an important topic during the summit'', an official said, stating that some main arteries will be closed to traffic during the meeting. The organizers are also expecting patience and understanding from the citizens.
More than 3500 journalists will cover the summit. In the press center, officials installed 200 telephone lines, 500 computers, 200 plasma screens and 140 TV sets. Wireless communication will also be provided for laptop users.
-3 AWACS PLANES-
NATO has provided 3 AWACS planes to Turkey to contribute to the security of the summit, it was learned. A team, composed of 30-40 experts of CBRN (anti chemical-biological, radiological and nuclear) battalion of the NATO will also arrive in Turkey before the summit.
-CETIN'S ROLE-
On the other hand, the term of office of Mr. Hikmet Cetin, the political representative of NATO for Afghanistan, is expected to be extended for a further 6 months. Cetin has assumed his duties last November. He was assuring dialogue and contacts with local authorities, as well as contacts with neighboring countries.
In a statement Mr. Cetin underlined the necessity of reforms in 5 areas, including the demilitarization and discharge of more than 100 thousand militiamen, as well as their integration to the civil society.
He asked for a reform to form a 70 thousand-strong national army. ''In this context 8 thousand soldiers have already been instructed and a police force should be established'' he declared. Mr. Cetin also insisted on reforms in judiciary and fight against narcotics. He noted that the 75 p.c. of world opium is produced in Afghanistan.
-NEW IMAGE OF NATO-
''A new image of NATO will dominate the Istanbul summit'', Jaap de Hoop Schaffer, Secretary General of NATO said.
Indicating that the cooperation with Balkan, Central Asia, Caucasus and Mediterranean countries, the secretary general indicated that the main focus will be on Afghanistan. He said that Iraqi question will also be discussed but refrained to make further comments on this issue.
(ULG) 24.06.2004