GUL VISITS GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL CHAIR KUWAIT
President Abdullah Gul today is visiting the current term chair of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Kuwait, to enhance cooperation and review the current state of bilateral relations, a Presidential Press Center statement said. Along with Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, many businessmen are accompanying the president to this oil-rich country, which neighbors Iraq. Visiting Kuwait, which last week took over the GCC's rotating presidency, is not only crucial to bilateral ties with Kuwait but also to relations with the five other members of the Gulf's largest intergovernmental body: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Bahrain. Turkey and the GCC have been working to reach a free trade agreement for almost four years. Turkey's trade volume with the GCC countries has ballooned from around $2 billion in 2002 to $17 billion this year. During his two-day stay, Gul will speak at a business forum for businessmen from both countries. Turkey last year signed a strategic dialogue agreement with the GCC to boost political and economic relations and open a new page with these countries. The foreign ministers of the GCC met in Istanbul this July to clarify relations and ease trade between these countries. The foreign ministers also reportedly discussed railway and highway connections from the Gulf countries to the European Union. /Today's Zaman/

TURKEY URGES IRAQ TO TAKE MORE CONCRETE STEPS AGAINST PKK
Amid rising tension due to illegal demonstrations by supporters of the terrorist PKK under the pretext of protesting the closure of pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), banned by court order earlier this month due to its links with the terrorist group, Interior Minister Besir Atalay had talks yesterday with Iraqi and US officials in Baghdad to coordinate counterterrorism efforts. The trilateral committee he attended was formed just over a year ago. Speaking to reporters ahead of his trip to Baghdad, Atalay, the coordinator of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government's democratization initiative, said considerable progress has been made through the trilateral committee, which cooperative measures for eliminating PKK bases in northern Iraq. "However, this process is not yet at a level which can meet our demands and expectations," said Atalay. "We want a complete end to the PKK presence in Iraqi territory and its leaders to be captured and extradited to Turkey with active support from our Iraqi brothers and our ally, the US. In short, we want the terrorist threat from Iraqi territory to be brought to an end. That's our goal." /Today's Zaman/

EU SET TO START NEGOTIATIONS ON TURKEY'S ENVIRONMENT CHAPTER
Turkey and the European Union are set to open the environment chapter during today's intergovernmental conference as part the country's accession negotiations. Turkey has opened 11 out of the 35 chapters and closed one of them since starting talks in 2005, and Ankara has expressed frustration over slow progress and double standards in the membership negotiations. In 2006 the EU suspended the opening of eight chapters and the closing of several others due to Turkey's policy of not opening Turkish ports to Greek Cypriot vessels. Turkey refuses to do so due to the EU's failure to keep its promises to ease the international isolation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in return for Turkish Cypriot support for a 2004 UN plan to solve the Cyprus issue. Though it rejected the plan, the Greek Cypriot administration was admitted into the EU that year. Negotiations on the environment chapter are expected to be challenging, because Turkey's compliance with EU regulations on the environment needs detailed preparations and strong cooperation among state institutions along with considerable financial resources. /Sabah/

FM DAVUTOGLU URGES EU TO GRANT TURKS VISA-FREE TRAVEL
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu over the weekend urged the European Union to introduce visa-free travel for Turkish citizens, saying that failing to do so after citizens of Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia have been granted the privilege is a clear double standard. "It's unacceptable that certain Balkan countries that are in the initial stages of the membership process and have not begun negotiations have been given the Schengen privilege, while Turkey, considering the level that Turkish-EU relations have reached, has not," Davutoglu told reporters. Turkey launched accession talks in 2005 and is part of a Customs Union agreement with the EU, but it is not a part of the Schengen regime that allows free movement across borders. Visa requirements in Schengen zone countries were abolished on Saturday for citizens of Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. "We will follow this closely from now on," said Davutoglu following a meeting of the Reform Monitoring Group, (RIG), which was set to review Turkey's EU accession process. Turkish officials have expressed frustration over what they consider slow progress in membership negotiations, since only 11 out of 35 chapters have been opened by the EU. The EU has kept eight others frozen because Turkey refuses to open its ports and airports to EU member Greek Cyprus unless the embargo of the Turkish Cypriots is lifted, as the EU promised. Davutoglu emphasized that the government is determined to move forward despite discouraging developments. "This is not a process only related to the opening or closing the chapters," he said. "We consider both domestic and international aspects of EU membership. We're determined to move forward according to Turkey's final goal, regardless of the obstacles." He also added that the RIG will continue to work on all chapters, including those frozen for political reasons. /Hurriyet Daily News/

IMF, WORLD BANK SET TO EMPLOY MORE TURKISH STAFF
Both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund will work to employ more Turkish staff, the head of a group of Turkish citizens working for the institutions said over the weekend. "We're trying to improve dialogue and put together a strategy with the human resources departments in order to contribute to the brain force in Turkey with our theoretical, sectoral and operational assets," said WB economist Sibel Kulaksiz, president of the World Bank-IMF Turkish Staff Association (WITSA). Kulaksiz said Turkey was among a group of 22 countries the WB is planning to hire more staff from. She said over 140 Turkish citizens are currently employed by the WB and IMF, which have a combined staff of 12,000 people. "The WITSA wants to reach out to experts in Turkey by promoting the share of intellectual material on economic development in both Washington and Turkey," she added. /Turkiye/

TURKEY BIDS FAREWELL TO FAMED DIRECTOR OKTEN
Turkey mourned Zeki Okten, one of the most prolific names in Turkish cinema, after the director's sudden death on Saturday. Okten, 68, died at Istanbul's American Hospital, where he had been recovering from cardiovascular surgery. President Abdullah Gul, Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Sahin, and Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay all expressed their grief at his passing, calling it a major loss for Turkish cinema. Born in Istanbul in 1941, Okten worked as an assistant director with such staples of Turkish cinema as Omer Lutfi Akad, Halit Refig, Memduh Un, and Atif Yilmaz. His first feature directing effort, "Ölüm Pazarı" (Market of Death), came out in 1963. But his first major success as a director was in 1973 with "Bir Demet Menekşe" (A Bunch of Violets). One of his most famous films, "The Herd," (Sürü) a joint effort with Yilmaz Guney, brought him nine international awards, including best film at the 1979 Locarno Film Festival and the 1980 Antwerp International Film Festival. "The Enemy," also written by Güney and co-directed by Ökten and Güney, was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 1980 Berlin Film Festival. /Today's Zaman/