HANNOVER - Turkey’s prime minister said on Monday that there was need for a new visa understanding between Turkey and the European Union (EU).
Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he wanted to remind German executives that Turkey had changed a lot, was carrying out accession negotiations with the EU, and visa procedures were outdated.
"Visa exemption is for the best interests of Turkey and Germany," Erdogan said during the inauguration of CeBIT International in Hannover, Germany.
Erdogan said Turkish citizens could enter 56 countries without visa, and therefore Turkey expected Germany to pioneer initiatives to solve problems of Turkish citizens in the EU.
Germany was the country that could understand well and extend the greatest support to Turkey’s EU membership bid, Erdogan said.
"Germany, which is so close to Turkey, is a country that can appreciate how Turkey can contribute to the EU," Erdogan said.
Commenting on developments in Middle East and North Africa, Erdogan said all those incidents once more indicated Turkey’s importance as Turkey was a country that could communicate the west, east, north and south, know and understand those countries well.
"I am sure that our European friends have taken into consideration that Turkey’s democratic experiences were highlighted in recent days," he said.
Erdogan said besides its influence and power in its region, Turkey’s economic dynamism had had a significant performance in recent days.
The global crisis that began at the end of 2008 affected EU countries, but had a limited effect on Turkey, he said.
Erdogan said Turkey had become one of the countries that grew the most in the world despite the global crisis.
"We expect Europe to prefer long-term policies and foresight instead of daily and populist policies," he said.
Erdogan said Turkey’s recent position and stance were a significant answer to those who had doubts about Turkey’s EU membership.
Premier Erdogan said he believed German politicians would continue to support Turkey’s EU membership bid.
Turkey became an EU candidate country in December 1999. The union launched accession talks with Turkey on October 3, 2005. The EU has so far opened 13 of the 35 chapter headings to negotiations with Turkey.
-Erdogan says share of techno-products in exports only 5 p.c.-
Erdogan said on Monday that the share of advanced technology products in the country’s exports was only 5 percent.
Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey aimed to raise this share to 20 percent soon.
"The ratio of R&D expenditures to Turkey’s national income is only 0.85 percent," Erdogan said during the inauguration of CeBIT International in Hannover, Germany.
Turkey is participating in the fair as a partner country.
Erdogan said R&D expenditures had 2.67 percent in overall national income of the United States and Germany, and it was 1.83 percent in European Union (EU) member states.
"Turkish government’s prior target is to raise R&D expenditures to 2 percent of the national income, which is the standard in developed countries," Erdogan said.
Erdogan also said he believed Turkey would achieve that goal with the incentives it had introduced.
Digital industry’s biggest, most international event, CeBIT International is taking place between March 1 and 5.
Turkish enterprises will be appearing at three of the four CeBIT segments: CeBIT pro, CeBIT lab and CeBIT gov.
92 Turkish companies including Turk Telekom, Turkcell, Vodafone Turkiye, Koc Sistem, Vestel, Turksat, Karel, Istanbul Teknopark, ODTU (METU) and ITU Ari Teknokent would attend the CeBIT 2011 that will begin on March 1.
With around 4,000 attendees from more than 100 countries, the CeBIT Global Conferences are a major magnet. Under the heading "The power of creativity and innovation" high-caliber speakers from all over the globe will provide a comprehensive overview of the key digital technology markets.