ERDOGAN, WITH BUSINESS DELEGATION, TO VISIT QATAR NEXT MONTH

As Turkish contractors have major investments in Qatar, which will host the 2022 World Cup, Ankara, seeking to stay one step ahead of possible serious competition, has decided to arrange an official visit to Qatar. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, State Minister for Foreign Trade Zafer Caglayan, and a delegation of 150 businessmen will pay an official visit to Qatar and Kuwait on Jan. 9-12. The Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) is organizing the trade leg of the visit. TIM head Mehmet Buyukeksi said the visit was organized just after the announcement that Qatar would host the 2022 World Cup. "Visiting Qatar was one of our long-term projects but by setting an earlier date, the government has taken an important step for us," he added. /Aksam/

FM DAVUTOGLU: "THE US NEEDS TO ADJUST TO TURKEY’S NEW PROFILE"

Turkish-US ties have been through rough patches in the past and may become strained again, given the changing nature of their relationship, according to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. It will take time for the US to become accustomed to the necessary mentality change, "since Turkey doesn’t want to be a strategic ally of the US from the security perspective only," he told reporters on Saturday. Turkey’s views need to be taken into account by the US in shaping its policies, Davutoglu said. Turkey wants to be influential and visible in global politics, he said, adding that this ambition is a pillar of the current government’s policies. "Turkey wants to be one of the countries shaping the new world order. We want Turkey to be seen as a country that will help restore the international system," he said. "We don’t want to be a country adapting to the system. We want to be a central country whose word carries weight, a country that says how the UN system or G-20 should be shaped, a country offering a view on how the global financial crisis should be solved," he said. Strengthening Turkey’s strategic direction in the wake of the Cold War has been another basic aim of government policy, Davutoglu said, adding that despite frustration over the slow pace of European Union membership negotiations, Turkey has the political will to pursue its EU bid. "Turkey’s future is in the EU. And the EU’s future will be shaped with Turkey," he said. /Hurriyet Daily News/

DAVUTOGLU BLAMES ISRAEL FOR FAILURE TO MEND TIES

Turkey is willing to improve ties with Israel, but internal rifts within the Israeli government are complicating efforts, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Saturday. "We intent to make peace with Israel. Why should we want bad relations with a country alongside which we’re trying to broker peace?" Davutoglu told reporters in Istanbul, referring to Turkey’s 2008 mediation efforts between Israel and Syria. "But we’re having difficulties when the other side doesn’t have the same political will." Davutoglu said that earlier this month it took the Turkish government about two minutes to decide to send fire-fighting planes to help extinguish a devastating fire in Israel, while in Israel such a decision would have sparked days of debates between coalition partners that would have been been leaked to the press, in the end scuttling the plan. "With the makeup of the coalition, internal rivalry is fiercer than Israel’s rivalry with other countries," he argued. Davutoglu also reiterated that the only way for Israel to improve ties is for it to apologize for a deadly May 31 raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship and compensate the families of the nine casualties. "Turkish citizens were killed in international waters, nothing can erase this truth," he said. Davutoglu also defended Turkey’s policy on Iran’s nuclear program, which some in the West allege shows Turkey is moving away from the West, saying it boosts Turkey’s standing as an international actor. Turkey is categorically against Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, he stressed, but it is also against restrictions on the rights of countries – including Turkey – to advance nuclear technology on the grounds that they could develop nuclear weapons. "The Turkish economy is growing," he said. "But since we lack (domestic) energy resources, there are only two alternatives left to meet our energy needs: renewable energy and nuclear energy." Davutoglu said Turkey has been telling Iran that it should allow international inspection of its atomic program, and added that Ankara would never agree to Iran acquiring nuclear weapons outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) system. "We’re telling Iran that if you seek to do so, we – before even the US – would oppose it," he said. Davutoglu dismissed claims that Ankara’s foreign policy orientation has shifted towards the East, citing figures showing that 49 percent of his foreign visits were to countries in Europe and America, while visits to the Middle East and Asia made up 31 percent. He added that Turkey wants to be a country that makes effective contributions to the international system, as it is going through a process of restructuring. "In the past, the international system was defined by big powers and Turkey simply adjusted to it," he said. "In the new era, we’re trying to become one of the central countries." /Today’s Zaman/

ENERGY MINISTER SAYS JAPAN CAN HANDLE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT DEAL

Building a nuclear power plant in the northern province of Sinop will involve areas such as investment, finance and operations, and Japan can handle all of this, said Energy Minister Taner Yildiz on Friday. "We believe Japan can bring all of them together," he said, underlining that being the contracting party of the $20 billion project is a "matter of coordination." At the end of Yildiz’s three-day official visit to Japan last week, Ankara and Tokyo signed a memorandum of understanding to start formal negotiations on the nuclear deal. During his stay in Japan, Yildiz also visited the world’s largest nuclear power plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, and afterwards told reporters that he wants Turkey to also have such a large plant, saying, "Good dreams will yield good actions and results." Yildiz added that the Sinop project will be the largest single investment in Turkey to date, and that it will help Turkey diversify its energy and financial resources. /Today’s Zaman/

THAI FM: "TURKEY IS OUR STRATEGIC PARTNER"

Turkey and Thailand are strategic partners whose commitment to each other means they can improve ties, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said late last week, concluding his official visit to Istanbul and Ankara. "My coming here is precisely to reaffirm to each other that we can be excellent partners," he said after meeting with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, adding that both agreed that they are strategic partners. The two countries last year celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and have announced intentions to boost high-level mutual visits in the near future. The Thai foreign minister said both Turkey and Thailand can play a strategic role in their regions. "There is a political will and determination to finalize (bilateral) agreements," he said. "All we need to do is to convert these agreements into action." Trade between the two countries stands at $1.3 billion, but tourism between the two countries is low. "We neglected each other since we’ve been preoccupied by domestic and regional concerns, especially security matters when we were fighting communism," he explained. "We were cut off from each other by the Cold War and colonialism." During his visit, Piromya also met with representatives of the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB), and the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK), and they agreed to facilitate visits by businesspeople from both countries in the near future. /Today’s Zaman/

GOVT PLANS TO SELL OFF ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION

After generating billions of dollars by selling the rights to electricity grids across the country, the Turkish government is now preparing to go on a huge privatization campaign for power production. Initially, four thermal power plants will be sold, in addition to a second wave of tenders for 18 coal or natural gas and 28 hydroelectric power plants, according to the Anatolia news agency. The second wave will be realized in nine phases in line with the location of the plants, Anatolia said. The total potential of the plants to be privatized exceeds 16 gigawatts. The government also plans to sell the properties of the power plants, but intends to hold onto management rights for hydroelectric plants. The first four power plants to be sold are Hamitabat, Kangal, Seyitomer and Soma A-B. Hamitabat is in the northwestern province of Kirklareli and burns natural gas, while Kangal (in Sivas), Seyitomer (Kutahya), and Soma A-B (Manisa) use lignite coal. Officials said the nine portfolios were organized according to geographic location and to meet the expectations of a broad range of investors, Anatolia reported. /Hurriyet Daily News/

TALABANI URGES TURKISH BUSINESSMEN TO VISIT, INVEST IN IRAQ

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani last week invited the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB) to visit his country, saying that he wants more Turkish investments there. Meeting with TOBB head Rifat Hisarciklioglu on the sidelines of an Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit in Istanbul, Talabani said that 600 Turkish companies have done business worth $8 billion in Iraq, adding that the airports in Erbil and Sulaimaniya, plus Sulaimaniya University, were built by Turkish firms. "Talabani wants more investment and trade from Turkey," Hisarciklioglu told the Anatolia news agency. "He also said bilateral trade should be boosted to $20 billion in short order." Talabani urged TOBB members to visit Erbil, Sulaimaniya, Mosul, Kirkuk, Baghdad, Najaf and Basra and meet with officials of both the local and national government and businesspeople. /Hurriyet Daily News/

FOUR TURKISH ENGINEERS KIDNAPPED IN AFGHANISTAN

Four Turkish engineers and their Afghan driver were kidnapped on Sunday in Afghanistan’s eastern border province of Paktia, news reports said. Abdul Rahman Mangal, Paktia’s deputy provincial governor, said the men were traveling from a building site in the Dand Wa Patan district, which borders Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas, to the provincial capital Gardez when the incident happened. "Four Turkish engineers and their Afghan driver were kidnapped by unknown gunmen and have been taken away to an unknown location," Mangal said, adding that the men worked for a construction company which builds border posts. "[A] search operation has been launched to locate and rescue the abducted engineers," he added. Abduction has become a lucrative business for both militants and criminal groups in recent years in Afghanistan, where violence has reached its highest level since the overthrow of the Taliban government in 2001. In addition to around 1,800 non-combat troops supporting the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Turkish private companies have also been actively involved in reconstruction efforts in the war-torn country. Last month, Turkey assumed rotating command of the Kabul Regional Command for another year. /Today’s Zaman/

TURKEY’S IMF CREDIT GRADE INCREASED

Under an expanded credit grade as well as increased representation, Turkey will now have significantly greater access to funds from the International Monetary Fund. Under the revised regime, Turkey will be able to draw on $42 billion in IMF funds. On the implementation of these IMF reforms, G-20 countries are set to complete their internal legal processes by the 2012 IMF/World Bank meetings. A country’s quota level, under IMF procedures, is the basis for the amount of IMF funds that country may use. Currently Turkey is represented on the IMF Executive Committee by Belgium. /Sabah/