ISTANBUL - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer granted NATO Science Prize to Turkish National Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul on Sunday.
NATO's Science Committee granted the NATO Science Prize to three Turkish universities including Bogazici University, Middle East Technical University (METU) and Istanbul Technical University, for their research on alleviating the consequences of earthquakes.
Speaking in the ceremony, de Hoop Scheffer said that NATO member countries felt deep sorrow over the earthquakes which hit Turkey in 1999.
De Hoop Scheffer said that NATO launched four projects to help its ally and expressed pleasure that they had now produced the results.
''I very much hope that they will be of use to Turkish decision makers and local authorities,'' de Hoop Scheffer noted.
De Hoop Scheffer added, ''I salute the researches from these three universities who are present here today. Your research could save the lives of many. And this is probably the noblest contribution any scientist can make to security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area.''
Gonul said that Turkey would continue to actively take part in the NATO's Science Committee.
The NATO Program for Security through Science was established to bring together scientists throughout the Euro-Atlantic region to build a scientific community dedicated to security, stability and solidarity. The program offers support for collaboration in projects in security-related areas such as defense against terrorism. But it also focuses on projects dealing with deadly natural disasters, like earthquakes, from which this country suffered many times in the past.
(UK-BRC) 27.06.2004