GUL VISITS EGYPT FOR SUMMIT ON GAZA
President Abdullah Gul, accompanied by Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, yesterday paid a one-day visit to Sharm-El Sheikh, Egypt, where he attended a summit on Gaza. Other leaders at the summit included Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, Jordan's King Abdullah, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and Czech Republic Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek. Afterwards, Gul told a joint press conference that a consensus government should be set up in Palestine under the leadership of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to help promote a permanent solution in the region. In related news, Gul is set to visit Saudi Arabia next month at the invitation of King Abdullah bin Abdalaziz al Saud. Gul's itinerary, including Riyadh and Jeddah, will reportedly be intense. /Cumhuriyet-Aksam/
PARLIAMENT SPEAKER TOPTAN: "ISRAEL NEEDLESSLY HARMED CIVILIANS"
Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan over the weekend visited Izmir Governor Cahit Kirac and Greater Municipality Mayor Aziz Kocaoglu. Asked about recent Israeli attacks on Gaza, which halted yesterday under a cease-fire declaration, Toptan said, "If an action is being conducted in the name of fighting terrorism, it can easily be done without harming civilians. The clearest examples of this are the operations conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in northern Iraq. The TSK has conducted many air and land operations and has yet to take any action against civilians." /Cumhuriyet/
IN BRUSSELS, ERDOGAN TO REITERATE TURKEY'S EU DETERMINATION
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan went to Brussels over the weekend at the invitation of European Union Commission head Jose Manuel Barosso, accompanied by Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and newly appointed chief EU talks negotiator Egemen Bagis. Erdogan is scheduled to hold separate meetings there with EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn and European Parliament Chairman Hans-Gert Poettering. On the sidelines of his visit, Erdogan will attend a conference held by the Friends of Europe think-thank and visit the Istanbul Center, a communications and cultural platform for the city's communications with EU organizations, corporations, and the European public. Erdogan reportedly will again reject claims that Turkey's EU accession process has slowed down, and stress Turkey's determination in its EU bid. Erdogan will also speak about what Turkey is doing in line with its national program for EU membership reforms. Speaking at a meeting in Hasselt yesterday, Erdogan lambasted Israel's attacks in Gaza. Reiterating that Israel has ignored UN resolutions, he added, "There are no sanctions against Israel, and that is a double standards." Touching on the ongoing Ergenekon probe, Erdogan stated that his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) never has tired of fighting dark forces, and that they will always act within the rule of law. Reiterating the party's opposition to ethnic and regional nationalism, he added, "We will continue to embrace everyone, whatever their religion or ethnicity." /Star-Aksam/
GOVT PLANS $350 MLN ASSISTANCE TO EXPORTERS THIS YEAR
State Minister for Foreign Trade Kursat Tuzmen said yesterday that the government would provide $350 million in government assistance to exporters this year. Stating that 2009 will be a tough year for exporters due to falling global demand and shrinking markets caused by the economic crisis, Tuzmen expressed his belief that Turkish exporters would overcome these difficulties to continue their upward trend of recent years. He said that nearly one-fifth of the assistance would be allocated for the research and development, adding that new assistance packages would be gradually announced later this year in addition to other government grants for exporters. Stressing that he is frequently meeting with exporters to learn about their problems, Tuzmen also said that he would pay an official visit to Egypt tomorrow with a large delegation of businesspeople, followed by a visit to Iran. In related news, Capital Markets Board (SPK) head Turan Erol said yesterday that the board would make an additional TL 500 million available for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through a new arrangement on investment funds. /Turkiye/