PRESIDENT GUL TO VISIT PRAGUE
President Abdullah Gul is next week expected to attend the meeting of the Eastern Partnership, initiated by the European Union and aimed at strengthening EU relations with former Soviet republics. The meeting in Prague, the Czech Republic will also bring together Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev. Afterwards, Gul will also meet with Azeri, Turkmen, Georgian and Kazakh leaders at an EU-organized energy summit on the Nabucco project. /Sabah/
GUL DECRIES UNPLANNED URBANIZATION
Speaking at the Council of Urbanization held by the Public Works and Housing Ministry in Ankara yesterday, President Abdullah Gul decried the ugliness of unplanned urbanization over the last 30 years, and added, "New villas at holiday villages are out of place. Urbanization in cities ruins mental health." Gul said urbanization is an important issue which requires a large vision and that the changes in social life are reflected in the physical structure of cities. In related news, Gul received Council of State head Mustafa Birden, who reportedly invited Gul to a ceremony marking the council's 141st anniversary. /Star-Cumhuriyet/
RESHUFFLED CABINET HOLDS ITS FIRST MEETING WITH NEWCOMERS
The reshuffled Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, yesterday held its first meeting with its newcomers and standing members in new positions. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced changes to the Cabinet late last week after getting President Abdullah Gul's approval. Ten ministers kept their seats and nine new names joined the Cabinet, while eight lost their seats in the reshuffle. Seven were shuffled to different posts in the 27-member Cabinet. The new foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, formerly Erdogan's foreign policy advisor, was appointed from outside Parliament. The newcomers took over their duties with official handover ceremonies yesterday, including Turkey's first female education minister, Nimet Cubukcu. During the swearing-in, her predecessor Huseyin Celik said under his leadership the Education Ministry had initiated many important projects, adding that Cubukcu would find a ready road map for the future. For her part, Cubukcu, former state minister for women and children's affairs, said she was honored by her new appointment, adding that she hopes to boost the number of girls attending school. State Minister for Foreign Trade Kursad Tuzmen handed over his post to Zafer Caglayan, until recently industry and trade minister. During the handover ceremony, Tuzmen said that under his seven-year tenure Turkey's exports had risen from $36 billion $132 billion, adding that improving boosting Turkey's trade ties worldwide has been a key foreign policy goal. Speaking to reporters after the new Cabinet's first meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Cemil Cicek said during the gathering the distribution of duties among the state ministers had been decided. Accordingly, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc will be responsible for the Anatolia News Agency, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), the Directorate General of Press and Information (BYEGM), the Foundations Directorate General, and the Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTUK). Arinc will also be responsible for government relations with the Council of State. Cicek also told reporters that new border trade arrangements, a new Interior Ministry undersecretariat to better combat terrorism, and planned constitutional changes were also discussed during the meeting. /Sabah/
ERDOGAN URGES PROTECTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF TURKEY'S FOUNDATIONS
Those who don't know or teach their history and fail to protect their cultural and historical heritage cannot face the future, said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday. At a meeting marking the start of Foundations Week, he said that the Turkish people have a deep-rooted civilization based on foundations. "While the notion of civil society has a background of nearly two centuries in the West," he added, "Turks are members of a civilization that has embraced this notion as its backbone through foundations established over 1,000 thousand years ago." Alluding to legendary mystic poet Mevlana Rumi, Erdogan said, "Like a compass, one of our feet should hold firm while the other roams the world. It is our responsibility to establish our future based on the heritage of our history. While we firmly set one of our feet on our history, with the other we should catch the future." Stressing that no healthy future is possible through exclusive focus on the economy or foreign policy while ignoring other key areas such as culture, history and social solidarity, Erdogan also spoke about government efforts over the last seven years to improve Turkey's foundations culture and help the needy. The meeting was also attended by Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc, other Cabinet ministers and representatives of non-governmental organizations. During the meeting, the most successful foundations of the last year were honored. /Turkiye/
PM ERDOGAN TO VISIT AZERBAIJAN AND RUSSIA NEXT WEEK
Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan is set to visit Azerbaijan next week to discuss the normalization process between Turkey and Armenia. Erdogan will meet with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev and is expected to reiterate his message that Turkey's stance on Nagorno-Karabakh has not changed. Afterwards, Erdogan will proceed to Poland and then visit Russia to hold contacts with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The two will discuss regional developments. /Star/
NEW FM DAVUTOGLU RECEIVES AZERI COUNTERPART
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday met with his Azeri counterpart Araz Azimov, his first guest since becoming Turkey's top diplomat this week. Before the meeting, Azmov had a long meeting with Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ertugrul Apakan. Officials said it was a planned meeting at the request of the Azeri side. During the meetings, officials reassured Azimov that the normalization of Turkish-Armenian ties will advance parallel to the Upper Karabakh process, and Azimov told Davutoglu about next week's meeting in Prague of the Azeri and Armenian presidents. /Cumhuriyet/
ITALIAN ENVOY REITERATES SUPPORT FOR TURKEY'S EU BID
Italian ambassador to Turkey Carlo Marsili yesterday reiterated his country's strong support for Turkey's European Union membership bid. "The final goal of the negotiations is clear, full membership," Marsili told a conference hosted by Ankara University. He warned that negative statements from European leaders about Turkish accession were weakening the hand of Turkey's friends in the bloc and hampering the speed of EU-inspired reforms in Turkey. The ambassador underlined that the EU accession process is a tough one, requiring candidate states to go through a deep transformation process, adding that the final outcome is only full membership. "Those countries contemplating a different outcome will have violated past commitments," he said. Turkey began formal negotiations with the EU in October 2005 but the entry talks slowed down in recent years for a number of reasons, including Turkey's refusal to open its sea and air ports to traffic from Greek Cyprus. "A lack of a solution to the Cyprus problem is harming Turkey," said Marsili. He added that it is unusual for EU countries to criticize fellow member states, which is why Greek Cyprus remains unscathed. The ambassador said the problem makes Turkey's friends in the EU worry, including Italy, and said he hoped the dispute would soon be resolved in a way that pleases all the parties concerned. The EU has suspended eight chapters in Turkey's accession negotiations due to the Cyprus row. The EU has set a 2009 deadline for Turkey to open its ports to Greek Cyprus, and Brussels may ask for the suspension of membership talks if this does not happen. Turkey's perception as a Muslim country is leading some member states to oppose Ankara's membership in the EU, according to Marsili. "Turkey is a secular, democratic country which will be a role model for other Muslim states to prove that Islam can coexist with democracy and human rights," he said, adding that opposing Turkey just because it is a predominantly Muslim country contradicts the fundamental values of the EU. In related news, State Minister and chief negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis yesterday met with one of Turkey's leading business figures, Rahmi Koc. During the meeting, the two discussed recent developments regarding Turkey's EU accession talks and planned legislative and constitutional changes as part of Turkey's EU reforms. /Hurriyet Daily News-Turkiye/