SEEKING STRONGER TRADE TIES, GUL TO VISIT GHANA AND GABON NEXT WEEK
In a three-day trip to Africa focused on stronger trade ties, President Abdullah Gul is set next week to visit both Ghana and Gabon. The visit, co-organized by the Turkish Exporters’ Union (TIM) and Turkish Confederation of Industrialists and Businessmen (TUSKON), takes place amid Turkey’s ongoing outreach to Africa, including opening seven embassies and consulates this year and efforts to boost trade ties. Ghana has Africa’s third-largest oil reserves, and Gabon is one of the continent’s most developed countries. Gul will meet with both Ghanian President John Kufuor and Gabon’s President Ali-Ben Bongo. Trade between Turkey and Gana rose from $175 million in 2009 to $230 million last year.
IN WAKE OF JAPAN EARTHQUAKE AND SAFETY CONCERNS, GOVT PRESSING AHEAD ON NUCLEAR POWER PLANS
In the wake of renewed nuclear fears in the wake of Japan’s earthquake and radiation leaks there, Ankara has no plans to abandon its plan to build nuclear power plants, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters over the weekend. Yildiz was speaking during a visit to the Turkish Atomic Energy Agency (TAEK) in Ankara, where he discussed with officials a possible radiation threat to Turkey. Yildiz said TAEK officials are monitoring developments closely and conducting a comprehensive risk analysis. "We’re determined to continue with our nuclear power plant projects," said Yildiz. Observers interpreted his remarks as an attempt to coax green activists – already pushing governments in Europe to drop nuclear energy – to cease their opposition. Yildiz added that the government is determined to try any option, including nuclear power, to double its installed energy power capacity by 2023. "We will send our nuclear engineers in groups to foreign institutions for training," he said.
DAVUTOGLU REITERATES TURKEY’S OPPOSITION TO FOREIGN INTERVENTION IN THE MIDEAST
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday reiterated Turkey’s opposition to any foreign intervention in countries going through political unrest in the Mideast region, saying they should be able to determine their own future. Davutoglu’s remarks came amid his calls for more democracy and freedom in Doha, Qatar, where he attended the sixth Al-Jazeera forum to discuss recent political developments in the Middle East. Speaking to a panel, Davutoglu spoke out against foreign intervention in countries whose people face imminent and sometimes violent suppression by the authorities as they demand change and reform. He stressed that Turkey doesn’t want to see divided countries as a result of recent developments in Arab countries, but instead hopes to see these countries emerge stronger than they were before. "There must no foreign intervention in these processes," he stated. "Nations should be able to determine their own future. Foreign intervention would only make things more complicated." Davutoglu added, however, that leaders and intellectuals could become involved in these processes, which he said does not constitute intervention, and that regional countries sharing a common history, together with intellectuals, leaders and journalists, should show solidarity with these processes. Davutoglu later stressed that military interventions in particular could prompt a backlash and complicate things, whereas humanitarian, for instance, is something that everyone should contribute to. "We have to put all our efforts toward a peaceful transformation in the region," he told reporters.
TURKEY, UAE SEND RELIEF CONVOY TO LIBYA
The first ships carrying humanitarian aid to crisis-hit Libya as part of a joint operation by Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have set sail from southern Turkey, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. A cargo ship and a roll-on/roll-off ship carrying humanitarian aid left from the Mediterranean province of Mersin are expected to reach Benghazi, Libya today. The ships contain 32 tons of medicine, 388 tons of food, 2,000 tents, 20,000 blankets, 72 tons of water, two mobile kitchens and a mobile oven, the ministry said, adding that a 13-member Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) team and a 16-member team from the Gulf state are also on their way to Libya.
IN OFFICIAL VISIT, TURKEY SEEKS STRONGER BUSINESS TIES WITH RUSSIA
A delegation led by State Minister Zafer Caglayan is due in Moscow today for a three-day visit, where officials from both sides will attend a bilateral consultation council meeting. As the delegation networks in Moscow, nearly 150 Turkish businesspeople will participate in a business forum attended by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other top officials. The meetings will be attended by members of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK), and Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON). The businessmen are scheduled to meet nearly 150 of their counterparts in Russia from sectors such as agriculture, food, textiles, automotive, chemicals, medicals, plastics, construction and machinery.
ISTANBUL TO HOST LEADERS OF CHANGE SUMMIT
Top international figures, including former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former US Vice President Al Gore, and Syrian President Bashar Assad, are in Istanbul this week for a summit on regional change. At the Leaders of Change Summit at the Istanbul Convention Center today and tomorrow, academics, intellectuals and government officials will discuss the recent wave of change in the region and Turkey’s role and position in this transformation."The Leaders of Change Summit plans to become an annual Istanbul World Political Forum," said Ahmet Eyup Ozguc, the head of the Turkish Future Research Foundation (TUGAV), which co-organized the summit along with Istanbul University. "Istanbul will be one of the major international political decision-making centers." Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will speak at the opening ceremony of the summit, which is supported by the Prime Ministry’s Promotion Fund and its Public Diplomacy Office, while President Abdullah Gul will speak at its conclusion. During the summit, developments in international social and economic policies and the background of regional transformation will be evaluated, along with prospects for the future.
TURKEY WAS SECOND-LARGEST PRIVATE BUYER OF US ARMS IN MIDEAST IN 2009, ACCORDING TO STATE DEPT
Turkey was the second-largest private buyer of US arms in the Middle East and North Africa in 2009, according to State Department figures released over the weekend. The US government approved $40 billion in worldwide private arms sales in 2009, including more than $7 billion to Mideast and North African nations that are now struggling with political upheaval, the State Department reported. Iraq, which US forces are still withdrawing from as the fledgling government is struggling against militants, was the biggest buyer ($1.51 billion), closely followed by Turkey ($1.50 billion) and the United Arab Emirates ($1.09 billion). Turkey also remains one of Washington’s largest clients in terms of arms sales. In September 2009, the Obama administration notified Congress of a possible $7.8 billion sale of Patriot PAC-3 antimissile batteries and related gear to Turkey, a transaction that would be one of the biggest US government-to-government arms sales in years. Turkey also sought six Predator unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and two armed versions of the Predator UAVs, also known as Reapers, last year from the US.
AFRICA’S FIRST TURKISH DENTAL HOSPITAL OPENS
A growing number of volunteer doctors who help people without access to adequate medical care around the world by visiting countries in need of such services are starting to implement long-term projects in target areas. One such project is the Esnan Dental Center, recently opened in Tanzania by Turkish dentists Emin Simsek and Necati Can. Last week, State Minister Zafer Caglayan personally congratulated Simsek and Can for the center, equipped with state-of-the art dental equipment. Simsek said that in 2008 and 2009 he had volunteered for a health screening project with a group of doctors from Izmir in Tanzania. "The health screenings showed us that Africa needs Turkish teachers, doctors and people in general," he said. His colleague Can also went to Tanzania for the first time as a volunteer. He said the center offers every modern-day dental treatment available, from dental implants to orthodontics. He said demand for the center was higher than expected, adding, "We urge that all Turkish doctors open health center branches in Africa."