TURKMEN LEADER DECLARES TURKEY "STRATEGIC PARTNER"
Turkmenistan considers Turkey our "strategic partner," said Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov over the weekend. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, he also stressed common points between the two countries ahead of a planned official visit to Turkey. Declaring Turkey a brotherly country for Turkmenistan, he added, "Historical relations between our two countries, which have been going on for centuries, and economic potential in relations will serve to promote diversification." /Today's Zaman/
ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN, AND TURKEY TO PARTICIPATE IN JOINT NATO EXERCISE
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey will be among participants in a joint NATO exercise in Kazakhstan next month, according to the Prime Ministry General Directorate for Emergency Management. NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Center (EADRCC) is organizing the Consequence Management Field Exercise on Sept. 5-11 in cooperation with Kazakhstan, the host nation. The exercise is in line with the Civil Emergency Planning Exercise Policy and the Exercise Program for 2009-2013, and is a contribution by Kazakhstan to the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program. It will be the ninth EADRCC field exercise and the first hosted by Kazakhstan. The Directorate for Emergency Management, EADRCC's contact point in Turkey, is also assuming coordination of all activities concerning the exercise. In addition to Turkey, other participating countries are the US, Germany, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Armenia, Finland, Britain, Spain, Sweden, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine. /Today's Zaman/
DETAILS OF DEMOCRATIC EXPANSION INITIATIVE TO BE ANNOUNCED BY YEAR'S-END
Details of the government's democratic expansion initiative, meant to solve the so-called Kurdish issue or southeastern Anatolia issue by expanding democratic and cultural rights for citizens of Kurdish origin, will reportedly be announced by year's-end. Before further announcements on the initiative, on which Interior Minister Besir Atalay, the government coordinator for the package, is continuing to hold talks with political parties, non-governmental organizations, and various sectors of society, the Cabinet will discuss the results of Atalay's talks and a separate report on the views and suggestions of several state institutions on solving the issue. A merged report will be discussed at the National Security Council's (MGK) October meeting, and after agreement is reached there, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will announce the details of the initiative, which will include short-, mid- and long-term measures. During this period, Erdogan is expected to seek meetings with opposition figures to discuss the initiative, though they have so far rejected similar meetings with Atalay. Turkey's unitary state structure with its nation and territory is the chief non-negotiable plank of the planned measures, and the government has repeatedly declared that the initiative aims to cement the unity and solidarity of the Turkish people, dismissing opposition claims to the contrary. Under the initiative, some short-term democratic measures are expected to be put into effect before year's-end, reportedly including confidence-building measures to dispel suspicions and prejudices about the plan. /Turkiye/
CAGLAYAN: "TURKEY WILL SWITCH TO AN INDIVIDUAL COUNTRY-ORIENTED FOREIGN TRADE APPROACH"
Speaking to Hurriyet daily yesterday, State Minister for Foreign Trade Zafer Caglayan discussed ministry plans for a restructuring of Turkey's handling of trade relations across the world. Stating that world trade would fall $4 trillion due to the global economic crisis, Caglayan said, "In light of this, we will adopt a target-oriented foreign trade approach based on the unique features of each country worldwide to improve Turkey's exports by diversifying foreign trade markets." Stressing that each individual country should be carefully examined to boost positive aspects of bilateral trade, Caglayan said they would establish country desks within the ministry to focus on the distinguishing features of each individual country. Caglayan also said his ministry would outsource a number of foreign trade services such as research in target countries, data compilation and processing, welcoming foreign businesspeople, and helping them meet their Turkish counterparts, adding that they would hire qualified staff from outside the ministry, making performance-based employment contracts with them. Citing Turkey's improved trade ties with Iraq and Syria, Caglayan said that Turkish firms could get a big slice of Iraq's huge infrastructure investments thanks to the hard work of foreign trade consultancy firms. Turkey places great importance on high-level strategic cooperation with Iraq, Caglayan said, adding that Turkey and Iraq have plans to establish a common industrial zone in their shared border area. Through free trade agreements, Turkey, Iraq and Syria will become a single economic zone, Caglayan said. Caglayan also talked about his ministry's plans for better cooperation with the Foreign Ministry. These two ministries should work like two arms of one institution, Caglayan explained, saying that the Foreign Ministry would set the political parameters while his takes care of trade. Caglayan also said that he would soon be holding official trade talks in China and Libya with an eye to improving trade ties. In related news, Caglayan next month will have official trade talks in Romania accompanied by a business delegation representing such sectors as construction, food, textiles, autos and software. /Hurriyet-Sabah/