GUL TELLS AMBASSADORS TO WATCH FOR RISING RACISM
Turkey’s ambassadors serving abroad are very important for representing the nation in foreign countries, President Abdullah Gul said yesterday. "Stay on high alert against rising racism and xenophobia, particularly in Europe," he told the third ambassadors conference in Ankara. "Bear in mind all aspects of the issue, act with common sense, and help to solve the problem." Gul said embassies and consulates represent Turkey’s interests abroad, stressing the ambassadors’ duty to protect the material and moral rights of Turkish citizens outside Turkey. "Maximum service to the citizens should be your priority," he added. /Sabah/
DAVUTOGLU MEETS WITH TURKS SAVED BY DIPLOMACY
Turkish citizens whose lives were saved through Ankara’s diplomatic efforts were Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s special guests during a dinner on Monday evening in honor of participants of the ongoing third annual gathering of ambassadors. Among the guests were three Turks who were freed from arrest in Syria in 1986; several engineers rescued from kidnappers in Afghanistan; and the crew of a Turkish-flagged ship who were detained in Venezuela over charges of drug trafficking. Also attending the dinner were Ahmet Dogan, the father of Turkish-American Furkan Dogan, who was killed along with eight other Turkish civilians during an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship last May, and Yeni Safak columnist Hakan Albayrak, who was aboard the same ship, the Mavi Marmara. /Today’s Zaman/
TURKEY GIVES $2 MILLION TO UN AID FOR CHAD AND NIGER
Turkey has donated $2 million to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to be used as assistance to Chad and Niger, two countries facing food shortages due to drought. In a statement released Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry said the aid comes as part of Turkey’s efforts to ease the suffering of countries needing urgent assistance. /Hurriyet Daily News/
GOVT UNVEILS PLAN TO BOOST TURKEY’S COMPETITIVE POWER
Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergun yesterday unveiled the government’s industry strategy document, set to boost Turkey’s competitiveness in global markets. The detailed plan foresees the establishment of giant ports and logistics bases and the construction of railroads. It also focuses on knowledge-based industries, technology transfers, and energy efficiency. Speaking at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace yesterday, Ergun said the action plan is already being implemented. "As it is an instrument to make sure we realize microeconomic reforms, this plan carries the utmost importance," he added. /Hurriyet Daily News/
TURKEY MULLING IRAN’S INVITATION TO TOUR NUCLEAR SITES
No decision has yet been made on how Turkey will respond to Iran’s invitation to tour key nuclear facilities, conveyed by Tehran’s permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to Turkey’s IAEA representative, said Turkish diplomatic sources on Tuesday. Iran’s surprise invitation, which was also conveyed to representatives of Russia, China, the European Union and others, left out Britain, France, Germany and the United States – the countries most opposed to its nuclear program. /Today’s Zaman/
NEW YORK TIMES REPORTS ON TURKEY EXERCISING "SOFT POWER" IN IRAQ
Turkey, resurgent as at any time since its Ottoman glory, is projecting influence through a turbulent Iraq in a show of "soft power" that illustrates its growing heft across the Arab world, reported The New York Times yesterday. "While the United States invaded and occupied Iraq ... Turkey now exerts what may prove a more lasting legacy – so-called soft power, the assertion of influence through culture, education and business," said the article. "Just as the Justice and Development Party [AK Party] of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reoriented politics in Turkey, it is doing so in Iraq, with repercussions for the rest of the region," it added. /Milliyet/
FORMER BLAIR ADVISOR: "ERDOGAN HAS MADE A REAL DIFFERENCE"Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is Turkey’s premier model leader, and he has made a real difference, said Jonathan Powell, a former advisor to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, on Tuesday, Erdogan is trying to do right things on delicate issues such as the Kurds and Cyprus, he told BBC’s Newsnight. Speaking on the same program, Stephen Hadley, a former advisor to US President George W. Bush, advocated closer cooperation between Turkey and the West starting this year. /Sabah/
GREEK CYPRUS SET TO LICENSE OFFSHORE OIL, GAS SEARCH
In a move that could stoke tensions with Turkey, Greek Cyprus said Tuesday that it will go ahead with a second licensing round for offshore oil and gas exploration later this year. Greek Cyprus has licensed US firm Noble Energy to explore an 800,000-acre block bordering Israeli waters where massive gas fields have been found under the seabed, including one thought to hold up to 16 trillion cubic feet of gas. There are currently no estimates on gas reserves inside the Greek Cypriot zone, as drilling has yet to begin. /Hurriyet Daily News/
TURKISH TEXTILE SECTOR WORKING AT FULL CAPACITY TO MEET RISING DEMAND
Significant growth in the Turkish economy has led textile and ready-wear clothing sectors to work at full capacity, with many companies putting a hold on accepting new orders. Speaking to the Anatolia news agency yesterday, Tarik Bozbey, head of the Mediterranean Ready-Wear and Textile Exporters’ Union, said the effects of the global financial crisis have started to disappear, causing countries to place orders with Turkish manufacturers. He added that textile orders that once went to Far Eastern countries have shifted to Turkey. "The Turkish textile sector is experiencing a second spring," Bozbey said. People with large disposable incomes favor Turkish brands over Chinese ones, he explained. "This is also true for Far Eastern countries," he said. "Their standard of living is rising, which led them to look for higher-quality clothing. These people now choose Turkish products over Chinese ones." He added, "Over the past five years, the textile and ready-wear sectors did everything to stay afloat amid the crisis. Now they are reaping the rewards." /Today’s Zaman/
FORMER SERBIAN TORTURE BASE NOW HOUSES TURKISH SCHOOL
A building in Sarajevo’s Vraca neighborhood that was once a command base where Serbian fascists used to torture Bosnian prisoners is now serving as a Turkish school where Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian students are receiving an education under the same roof. The building was turned into a school, currently attended by hundreds of students, by the Bosna Sema Educational Institutions. Turkish volunteers who traveled to the region shortly after the Balkan wars opened 70 elementary schools and two universities. The former Chetnik base hosts the first school opened by Turkish education volunteers. The building, after seeing many war crimes in the 1990s, has been used as a school since 1997. Bosna Sema coordinator Ismail Yapici said some 2,000 students are attending the Turkish schools and universities. Yapici also said Bosnian authorities had signed a 20-year lease for the building – in which prisoners of war were held during the bloody conflict – with the Journalists and Writers Foundation’s (GYV) Bosnian branch after the signing of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords. /Today’s Zaman/