SKOPJE - Turkish President Abdullah Gul will leave for Macedonia on May 1st to attend the 15th Summit of Presidents of Central European States.
President Gul, who will attend the summit to be held in Macedonian city of Ohrid from May 1st to 3rd as the special guest of President Branko Crvenkovski of Macedonia, will deliver a speech. He will also hold bilateral talks with some of participating presidents in which reciprocal relations as well as regional and international problems will be high on agenda.
Later, President Gul will proceed to Skopje on May 3rd.
In Skopje, President Gul will meet his Macedonian counterpart Crvenkovskito exchange views on Turkey-Macedonia relations, regional and international developments. Gul is also scheduled to receive Macedonian parliament speaker and prime minister.
During the visit, an agreement will be signed by the two countries to cooperate in dealing with aftermath of natural disasters.
President Gul is expected to return home on May 4th after visiting the Ottoman-era sites in Macedonia.
-TURKEY ATTENDS THE SUMMIT FOR THE FIRST TIME-
President Gul, along with German President Horst Kohler, was invited to the summit as special guest. It will be the first attendance of Turkey at the summit which will bring together heads of state of 18-member countries (Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine).
Established in 1989 as an intergovernmental forum for political, economic and cultural cooperation among member countries, CEI`s main objective is to assist central and eastern European countries in their EU membership process by contributing to their democratization.
(UK-AÖ)