ANKARA - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that he would pay a visit to France for the first time as the prime minister of Turkey.
Holding a press conference at Ankara's Esenboga Airport prior to his departure , Prime Minister Erdogan said, ''there has been continuous political, economic and cultural relations between Turkey and France for a long period. Today, France is one of European countries having the highest level political, economic and commercial relations with Turkey.''
''Today (late on Monday), I will meet Prime Minister Jean Pierre Raffarin of France. We will have the chance of discussing our bilateral relations in detail. Tomorrow, I am scheduled to meet President Jacques Chirac. During the meeting, we will take up Turkey-France relations and Turkey's European Union (EU) membership process. Turkey-EU relations in general will also be a topic on the agenda. I will inform President Chirac on Turkey's steps to adjust itself to the EU, our efforts to put into practice the reforms, and the progress we made in our efforts to become a member of the EU,'' he said.
Prime Minister Erdogan also told reporters that he would ask French officials to support Turkey in the future.
''We will exchange views on recent international and regional topics. During the visit, I will also meet Turkish people living in France. I will meet French businessmen to inform them on Turkish economy and invite them to invest in Turkey,'' Prime Minister Erdogan added.
(UK-ULG) 19.07.2004