GUL MEETS WITH SLOVENIAN TURK
President Abdullah Gul yesterday met with his Slovenian counterpart Danilo Turk at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. Gul and Turk held a joint press conference after the meeting. Afterwards, Gul hosted a dinner in honor of Turk at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. Speaking at the gathering, Gul said, "Our talks focused on ways to further improve our bilateral relations and development. We consider Slovenia a significant ally and friendly country with which we cooperate for stability and prosperity of Europe and our region." Touching on economic and commercial relations between the two countries, Gul stated that trade volume between the two countries increased to $900 million last year. "We aim at further increasing this amount in years to come," he added. For his part, Turk spoke about attendance of the Alliance of Civilizations Forum, saying that the Alliance of Civilizations initiative was very important. Turk added that he would not forget Turkey's support to Slovenia's membership process to international organizations such as the UN. Stating that they appreciated Turkey's policies in the Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia, he stressed that Turkey and Slovenia had similar opinions about international affairs. He said that Slovenia, as a European country, believed that Turkey should take place in the EU, and that Turkey would make important contributions to the EU with its economic and demographic dynamism and strategic location. /All papers/

FM DAVUTIGLU VISITS GEN. BASBUG

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday paid a visit of courtesy to Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug. The two reportedly discussed the international issues. /Aksam/

BRAZIL'S DA SILVA BEGINS HIS VISIT TO TURKEY, FIRST-EVER BY A BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT
Accompanied by a large delegation, including Foreign Minister Celso Amorim, Industry and Trade Minister Miguel Jorge, and businesspeople, Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula Da Silva yesterday came to Istanbul to pay a three-day official visit at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul, which is the first-ever by a Brazilian president. The Brazilian leader, a former labor unionist better known as Lula, met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul's Ciragan Palace late yesterday. The meeting was closed to the press. A presidential statement said that the visit was historically important, as it was the firs-ever visit by a Brazilian president to Turkey. Lula Da Silva is expected to meet with President Gul today. As part of his visit, he will also attend a meeting of Turkish-Brazilian Business Council in Istanbul. The Brazilian President will later proceed to Ankara to hold official talks about the ways to diversify cooperation areas in order to improve bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international issues. The presidential statement also said that an oil drilling agreement would be signed between the Turkish Petroleum Company (TPAO) and Brazil's PetroBras with the presence of Gul and Lula Da Silva as part of the visit. /Sabah/

TURKEY SET TO NAME NEW DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL OF NATO
Turkey is expected to name one of its leading four diplomats as the deputy secretary-general of NATO in the months to come. Among the candidates are Turkish Ambassador to Khartoum, Sudan Fatih Ceylan, Hasan Aygun, the political advisor to the NATO's Portugal Mission, Turkey's Permanent Representative to the UNESCO Ali Tuygan and Hikmet Cetin, NATO's former Special Envoy to Afghanistan. Turkish deputy secretary-general of NATO will be responsible for the alliance's relations with the Islamic world. Turkey initially opposed to the election of former Danish Premier Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the secretary-general of NATO due to his stance during the infamous cartoon crisis of 2006, which led to major protests across the Islamic world and his rejection to ban a terrorist PKK affiliated-satellite broadcaster. After taking firm assurances about policies which Rasmussen pledged to follow as the secretary general, Turkey agreed Rasmussen's election to the top NATO post during the 60th anniversary summit of the alliance in early April. One of the assurances Turkey received was the appointment of a Turkish deputy secretary-general to improve the alliance's relations with Muslim countries. /Aksam/

BOSTON CELEBRATES TURKISH FEST
The eighth Turkish Film and Music Festival in Boston, US ended yesterday. Over the course of approximately six weeks, the event presented more than 20 activities at local venues. Festival director Erkut Gomulu said that the event became a part of Boston's cultural life. Though only a very limited number of Turkish films had been screened in the city in the past, he said, festivals and competitions have allowed a broader spectrum of people to view the best examples of Turkish cinema. World-renowned Turkish clarinetist Selim Sesler and the violinist Onur Dilisen as well as the groups Black Fortress of Opium and Esthema performed at the festival. /Hurriyet Daily News/

FRENCH DIVA TO PERFORM IN ISTANBUL
French singer Patricia Kaas, who competed in the 54th Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow on Saturday and finished in the 8th place, will take stage on June 10 at Istanbul's Cemil Topuzlu Harbiye Open Air Theater. /Hurriyet Daily News/

SEVENTH TURKISH OLYMPICS TO START ON MAY 28 IN ANKARA
International Turkish Language Olympics, organized by the International Turkish Education Association (TURKCEDER), will start on next Thursday in Ankara. Turkish Olympics will host 600 students from 115 countries including Afghanistan, Argentina, Venezuela, Benin, Ethiopia, Congo, France, Italy, Uganda, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The speaking, writing, grammar, poetry, singing, presentation and specific ability contests will be organized under the category of Turkish as a Foreign Language, and essay writing, poetry and general knowledge contests will be held under the category of Turkish as Native Language. The finals in the song contests will be held at Istanbul's Halic Congress Center on June 3, and poetry contest finalists will compete at Bursa's Kultur Park on June 2. The award ceremony of the Turkish Olympics will take place at Ankara's ASKI sports center. /Today's Zaman/

TURKISH SEASON ACTIVITIES SET TO START IN FRANCE
France is preparing to host the Season of Turkish Culture activities, which is set to start this July and last through March 2010. Among the planned activities as part of the event are the screening of award-winning Turkish movies, dance, and theater performances, and photo and art exhibits. The season will start with a performance by Turkey's famous dance group Fire of Anatolia at Paris' renowned Trocodero square. Two of the most important planned exhibits are an Ottoman Caftans exhibit at the well-known Louvre museum of Paris and an exhibit called Istanbul through the Ages at Grand Palais. The latter will be jointly inaugurated by President Abdullah Gul and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in July, which highlights the great importance placed by Turkey and France on the season. Paris Mayor Betrand Delanoe yesterday announced that to mark the beginning of the season, golden keys of Paris would be presented to three world renowned Turkish artists in July: 2006 Nobel literature prize winner Orhan Pamuk, famous photographer Ara Guler, and Nuri Bilge Ceylan, the last year's best director award winner of the Cannes Film Festival. The Season of Turkish Culture activities will seek to make Turkish culture better known across France and to encourage cooperation projects between the two countries. More than 400 artistic, educational, economic and cultural activities will take place in French cities such as Lyon, Marseille, Strasbourg and Paris as part of the season. The event aims to promote modern Turkey in France with its dynamism, differences, culture and heritage, and improve political, economic and cultural relations between the two countries. Forty-two exhibitions will be held in France during the season, giving the French people the opportunity to learn about Turkish movie, literature, music and culture. /Milliyet/