TURKEY, KAZAKHSTAN TO BOOST COOPERATION

Attending a Kazakh-Turkish business forum along with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev yesterday, President Abdullah Gul called on businesspeople in the two countries to make mutual investments. Kazakhstan is the heart and the rising star of the Asian continent, Gul said and added, "Our bilateral relations have been further deepening and improving since the day Kazakhstan acquired its independence," he said. "There are a number of Turkish businessmen operating in Kazakhstan. They mainly operate in the sector of construction. President Nazarbayev asked us to encourage Turkish businessmen to also make investments in the sectors of mining and energy," he said. /Hurriyet Daily News/

ERDOGAN: "ANY COUNTRY HAS THE RIGHT TO ENRICH URANIUM FOR PEACEFUL PURPOSES"

Speaking at a joint press conference following his meeting with Kgalema Motlante, the Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, who arrived in Ankara on Monday for a two-day official visit, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called South Africa as a key trade partner for Turkey in the African continent. Stressing the two countries' determination to boost their bilateral ties and cooperation, Erdogan said, "As the largest economy of the African continent, South Africa is Turkey's most important trade partner in southern Africa." During the meeting Erdogan and Motlante signed nine agreements on improving cooperation between their countries in various areas. Exerting necessary efforts to implement these agreements will be in the best interest of our countries, Erdogan said. Before the press conference, Erdogan and Motlante also signed a joint declaration. The trade volume between Turkey and South Africa hit $2 billion last year. Asked about latest developments regarding a nuclear swap deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil with Iran in early last week, Erdogan said, "Iran remained committed to the agreement and recently sent a letter to officially notify the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the deal to ship much of its low enriched uranium to Turkey in return for nuclear fuel. This letter was handed over to the agency under the supervision of Turkish and Brazilian permanent representatives at the UN." Stating that Iran's low-enriched uranium would be sent to Turkey within one month, Erdogan said, "Some say Iran is continuing to enrich uranium despite the deal. If a country produces low-enriched uranium for nuclear energy, there is no problem with this, and it is the right of any country to produce low-enriched uranium for peaceful purposes. This is what Iran is doing right now." For his part, Motlante welcomed the role Turkey has played in the signing of the uranium swap deal with Iran. Motlante said his country appreciates Turkey's facilitating role in the formation of the necessary grounds for the signing of the deal. Commenting on the relations between Turkey and South Africa as well, Motlante said both countries aimed at increasing their trade volume. He also said the two countries could cooperate particularly in energy and mining sectors. Noting that actions needed for establishing peace and stability in problematic regions were discussed during his talks in Ankara, Motlante said that it was important to have a reliable partner like Turkey in order to achieve such goal. /Sabah-Star/

PM ERDOGAN DEPARTS FOR SOUTH AMERICA TO BOOST TIES

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday departed for South America trip, which will include a first prime-ministerial level visit to Brazil, as well as stops in Argentina and Chile. Erdogan and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will hold a bilateral meeting to review various issues of interest to their countries, both non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, and sign some related agreements. In Brazil, Erdogan will also attend the third forum of the Alliance of Civilizations, which is co-chaired by Turkey and Brazil, on Friday and Saturday. /Hurriyet Daily News/

GAZA BLOCKADE MUST END, SAYS DAVUTOGLU AT UN MEETING IN ISTANBUL

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said Israel should respect the fundamental and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and end the blockade on Gaza. "Turkey does not want the current situation in Palestine that resembles a modern ghetto to continue and wants all practices that threaten humanitarian rights there to be stopped," the top Turkish diplomat noted. "The blockade on Gaza must come to an end. This is and will be our policy," he added. Davutoglu reiterated Turkey's solidarity with the Palestinian people and support for them to have a normal life on the land in which they are the indigenous inhabitants. He was speaking at a press conference following the first session of a two-day meeting of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People that started in İstanbul on Tuesday. Davutoglu said it was a significant development and also meaningful that the meeting had convened in Turkey. The committee was established in 1975 as a subsidiary body to the UN General Assembly with a mandate to promote the Palestinians' national rights. Davutoglu stressed that the Palestinian issue has an internationally strategic dimension, but for Turkey, it is, above all, a humanitarian issue. "We want the children of Gaza and the West Bank, just like children in other parts of the world, to look to the future with hope. We want Palestinian people to be allowed to be connected with the outside world so that they can fulfill their needs," he added. The Gaza Strip has been under a tightened Israeli and Egyptian economic blockade since 2007 when the Hamas movement took over the territory after being elected in the 2006 elections. /Today's Zaman/

FM DAVUTOGLU DENIES TENSION WITH US OVER IRAN SWAP DEAL

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday waved off media comments that a nuclear swap deal Iran agreed to with Turkey and Brazil has strained Ankara's relations with the United States, saying US President Barack Obama's policy of engagement paved the way for the Turkish efforts for a negotiated settlement. Iran on Monday formally presented a letter outlining the deal, co-sponsored by Turkey and Brazil, to the UN's atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement released later in the day that the content of the letter was "positive and constructive." But the United States appears to disagree. Although it hailed the diplomatic efforts of Turkey and Brazil, the White House has said the deal has not removed concerns over Iran's nuclear program. The US and its allies also complain that Iran refuses to stop enriching uranium, something which could eventually enable it to produce nuclear weapons, and continue to push for sanctions against Iran in the UN Security Council. According to a Washington Post report, Obama spent more than an hour on the phone with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday explaining to him why the deal his country cut with Iran was "incongruous with a US push to isolate the Islamic republic over its nuclear program" and said the US push for sanctions would continue despite the deal. Davutoglu, however, said the telephone conversation was not as tense as was reported in the media. "On the contrary, it was a very constructive conversation during which both sides expressed their views," he told reporters at a press conference. "Efforts to create tensions between Turkey and the United States will remain fruitless," he added. He said the deal with Iran was not the success of Turkey and Brazil alone. "This is a success of the policy of engagement of Mr. Obama. This is a success of his vision of peace which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize," said Davutoglu. /Today's Zaman/