IN KUWAIT, GUL STRESSES BETTER TRADE TIES WITH GULF COUNTRIES
President Abdullah Gül left Ankara yesterday for an official visit to Kuwait, the first visit at that level in 12 years, at the invitation of the Kuwaiti head of state, Sheikh Sabah IV Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who currently heads the rotating presidency of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Speaking to reporters before his departure, Gul said, "In meetings in Kuwait, we will look at relations between Kuwait and Turkey and discuss how to improve our trade ties and how to expand relations into other areas." During his two-day stay, Gul is being accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan and Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) head Rifat Hisarciklioglu, along with other businessmen and lawmakers. Gül added that he will share his views on recent developments in the region, as well as participate in a meeting of the Turkey-Kuwait Business Forum. Stating that Kuwait, one of the world's biggest oil producers, is soon set to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in its infrastructure, Gul said there are big business opportunities for Turkish contractors and consultants there, and expressed hope that his visit would add momentum to bilateral relations. Gul also said that negotiations are continuing between Turkey and the Gulf countries, including Kuwait, over a free trade agreement. On the first day of his visit, Gul and Al-Sabah chaired an interdelegational meeting, and he was presented by Al-Sabah with a High Order of the Kuwaiti State. Attending a dinner given in his honor by Al-Sabah, Gul also received Deputy Kuwaiti Parliament Speaker Abdullah al-Roumi as well as Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Jabir al-Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah. /Turkiye/
ERDOGAN DUE IN DAMASCUS FOR LANDMARK VISIT TO BOOST BILATERAL TIES
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will fly to Damascus today to chair a meeting of a high-level strategic cooperation council with Syria, marking the next step in Turkey's active foreign policy in the Middle East. During his two-day visit, Erdogan will also attend a meeting of the Turkey-Syria Business Forum. Erdogan is expected to meet with Syrian Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-Utri. As part of the visit, deals are slated to be signed on water, health, transportation, industry, foreign policy, and higher education. Speaking to Syrian reporters before leaving, Erdogan called his visit a milestone in relations between Turkey and Syria. Calling Syria a gateway for Turkey to the Arab world, Erdogan said Turkey is similarly Syria's gateway to Europe. Erdogan also spoke of plans to improve energy cooperation between the countries. Decrying the deplorable conditions in the Gaza Strip, Erdogan said Israel's offensive there early this year had shocked the Turkish people. Urging Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza, Erdogan said Turkey is ready to do all it can to help reconstruction efforts there. The business forum will be attended by dozens of exporters from Turkey's construction, auto parts, furniture, food and food equipments, textiles, mineral fuel, cement and packaging sectors. Businesspeople will also have chance to hold bilateral talks with Syrian companies during the forum. Turkey and Syria signed a free trade deal in December 2002 that took effect in 2007. Trade between the two countries recently shot up 50 percent to reach $1.8 billion last year. Turkish exports to Syria rose 40 percent in 2008, while imports were up 70 percent. Officials of the two countries hope to reach a trade volume of $5 billion in the next three years. /Turkiye/
TURKEY, EU START NEGOTIATIONS ON ENVIRONMENT CHAPTER
At the end of the day, it will be the European Union that will ask Turkey to join the 27-nation bloc, as Turkey will not lose its enthusiasm for full EU membership despite the blocking of negotiations on new policy areas due to political motives, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Sunday. Davutoglu was speaking with journalists en route from Ankara to an intergovernmental conference with EU officials in Brussels yesterday, during which negotiations with Turkey on one new chapter - the environment - began. In addition to Davutoglu, the meeting was attended by State Minister and Chief Negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis and Environment and Forestry Minister Veysel Eroglu, with the EU represented by Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose country will hand over the six-month rotating EU presidency to Spain late next week. Asked by reporters about assumptions that only a few chapters in Turkey's talks seem likely to be opened, Davutoglu said, "The biggest obstacles were once erected against Britain and Spain (when they were EU aspirants). EU accession is a result of a political will. If Turkey didn't have growing political power, this chapter (on the environment) wouldn't have been opened. Turkey's political clout will push the EU to review matters. The EU will either be with Turkey or without it. The big countries of the EU will have to make a strategic decision." In related news, Davutoglu yesterday demanded equal treatment from the EU on visa requirements. Speaking to reporters, he said Turkey would soon take steps to meet the bloc's standards for visa-free travel - such as introducing biometric passports and signing an agreement on the readmission of illegal immigrants - adding that if after this the Union still refuses to allow Turkish citizens to travel to member countries freely, this would be a blatant double standard. On the same issue, Bildt said the bloc would focus more on the visa issue in the coming years. The EU lifted visa requirements for three Balkan countries, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, over the weekend, even though none of these countries has even started accession talks with the bloc. Turkey started its EU negotiations in 2005. /Today's Zaman/
TURKEY, US AND IRAQ AGREE ON ROAD MAP FOR ELIMINATING PKK FROM N.IRAQ
Interior Minister Besir Atalay met with Iraqi Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq yesterday, a day after tripartite mechanism meetings in Baghdad between Turkey, the US and Iraq to discuss joint measures against the terrorist PKK. Atalay met with northern Iraqi regional Kurdish administration leader Massoud Barzani and Prime Minister Barham Saleh. On Sunday, Atalay said the second session of a counter-terrorism meeting would be held in Erbil, following the first session in Baghdad. Speaking to reporters after the latter meeting, Atalay said they had reviewed the contributions made by the tripartite mechanism and measures taken by all three countries over the last year. "New concrete measures and decisions that will considerably boost joint efforts by Turkey, Iraq and the US to destroy the PKK were assessed during today's meeting," Atalay said, pointing to progress achieved through concrete steps taken by the tripartite mechanism. "Moreover, a road map was developed." Iraqi Security Minister Sherwan al-Waili said on Sunday that he spoke at length with Turkish officials about the Makhmour refugee camp. "We're trying to find a joint solution for this camp," al-Waili said. "We want to close it, as it poses a threat to the security of both countries." Speaking to reporters after his meetings in Baghdad and Erbil, Atalay said his talks would have greatly help steps to eliminate the terrorist PKK. "I believe Turkey's cooperation with Iraq would take on a new dimension and yield results," he said. "I believe that we will see tangible results from our two days of talks. Very strong messages were relayed, and there were serious exchanges of information." He added, "We once again relayed our requests and expectations that further steps be taken to eliminate the terrorist PKK." Atalay said that in addition to Massoud Barzani and Saleh, he met with Karim Sinjari, the regional Kurdish administration's interior minister. "We expressed our determination to put an end to PKK terrorism," he said. "We also explained the steps taken by the Turkish government on the matter. We discussed ways to cooperate against separatist terrorism in northern Iraq." /Hurriyet/
REHN: "HOW THE EU TREATS TURKEY'S EU BID WILL TEST ITS WILL TO BE A GLOBAL PLAYER"
Whether the European Union will become a global player or not will be determined by its treatment of Turkey's accession bid, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn said yesterday. Speaking to reporters after an intergovernmental meeting between Turkey and the Union where the environment chapter was opened as part of Turkey's EU accession talks, Rehn said that since 1999, when Turkey was given candidate country status, Turkey's EU process has seen ups and downs. "The years of downs recently ended, and stability has been reached. Turkey's EU process began seeing significant progress with the establishment of stability in the country," he said. "What is crucial is to preserve the strategic approach and for Turkey to continue reforms to strengthen basic freedoms, the rule of law, and other EU values and standards." The opening of the environment chapter shows that Turkey's EU bid is moving forward, Rehn added. EU Term President Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, for his part, said Turkey's accession talks had reached a more "demanding" level. More comprehensive reforms are needed in Turkey, Bildt said. Stressing the importance of Ankara's initiative to solve the Kurdish issue, Bildt said he believes Turkey will continue its EU reforms. As the EU public debate over Turkey continues, the strategic importance of Turkey's accession process becomes clearer, he said. Joining the EU is harder now than it was 10 or 20 years ago, he added. Rehn and Bildt wore pins of the flags of Turkey and the EU side by side while speaking to reporters. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, State Minister and Chief Negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis and Environment and Forestry Minister Veysel Eroglu were also present at the press conference. With the opening of the environment chapter, 12 out of 33 chapters in Turkey's EU accession talks have been opened. /Star/