ERDOGAN, GUL TRAVEL TO BRUSSELS TO ATTEND NATO SUMMIT
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday flew to Brussels, Belgium to attend a NATO summit where leaders from the alliance’s 25 member countries and US President George W. Bush are set to discuss NATO-European Union relations, the Afghan and Iraq issues, conflict in the Mideast, etc. Erdogan will also hold bilateral meetings with his EU counterparts. In addition, he is expected to meet with the US president today and to exchange views on bilateral relations as well as regional issues. /Sabah/
CICEK REAFFIRMS CLOSE TURKISH-US PARTNERSHIP
At a press conference following yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Justice Minister and government spokesman Cemil Cicek said that bilateral relations between Turkey and the United States, who he called two allies and friends, were on the right track. “Ankara attaches the highest importance to its relations with Washington,” Cicek said. “Our government is committed to maintain this satisfactory level of bilateral relations in the future. Although our two countries have had certain problems and crises in the past, Turkey and the US are strategic partners. As Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul briefed the Cabinet on this issue, we believe that Turkey will benefit from its partnership with the US, so relations must be maintained at the present level.” /Turkiye/
OZKOK MEETS HIS EGYPTIAN COUNTERPART
Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok yesterday met with his Egyptian counterpart Gen. Hamdi Vehibe in Cairo. “We are willing to continue our structural relations with Egypt based upon previous agreements,” added Ozkok in a statement after his meeting. Ozkok later visited a cemetery for Turkish soldiers and the Cairo Museum. /Star/
ATILLA KOC NAMED NEW CULTURE MINISTER
After meeting with President Ahmet Necdet Sezer at the Cankaya Presidential Palace yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy from Aydin, Atilla Koc, has been appointed the new culture and tourism minister. Justice Minister Cemil Cicek had been serving as acting minister after Erkan Mumcu resigned from both the post and the ruling party last week. /Hurriyet/
ANOTHER AKP DEPUTY RESIGNS FROM PARTY
In the wake of last week’s resignation of Culture and Tourism Minister Erkan Mumcu, Suleyman Saribas, a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy from Malatya, yesterday resigned from the party. Speaking to reporters, Saribas said that he had been experiencing serious differences of opinion and attitude with the party organization for some time. With Saribas’s resignation, the AKP’s seats in Parliament fell to 365, still a comfortable majority, while those of independents rose to seven. /Turkiye/
ITALIAN SENATE SPEAKER VISITS TURKEY
Italian Senate Speaker Marcello Pera yesterday arrived in Ankara upon the invitation of Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc. In a joint press conference, Arinc thanked Pera “for the consistent support Italy has shown in Turkey’s European Union membership bid.” Pera for his part lauded Turkey’s upcoming accession talks as historic, adding that they should not be used for political fodder. President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also received Pera. Predicting that Turkey would earn full membership at the end of its accession talks, Pera said that Turkey’s membership would enhance the EU’s identity. /Star/
UNAKITAN STRESSES NEED FOR CONTINUED BUDGETARY DISCIPLINE
Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan yesterday released last month’s budget figures. Touching on recent discussions concerning a government incentive scheme proposal, Unakitan said that he doesn’t expect disagreements with the International Monetary Fund. “The important thing is that we remain decisive in our fiscal discipline,” added Unakitan. /Hurriyet/
LATVIAN FM TO VISIT ANKARA
Latvian Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks, accompanied by a delegation, will arrive in Ankara tomorrow to pay an official visit. Pabriks is expected to meet with Turkish officials including President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc as well as his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul to discuss bilateral relations and regional issues. In addition, the delegation is set to attend a business meeting in Istanbul. During the contacts, the itinerary for Latvian President Vike-Vaira Freiberga’s visit scheduled for April will also be prepared. /Turkish Daily News/
TALAT: “WE HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE BUT TO FORM A COALITION WITH THE DP”
Fresh off his victory at the polls, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat said yesterday that his party had no alternative but to form a coalition with the Democrat Party (DP). On Sunday’s elections in the TRNC, the center-left Republican Turkish party (CTP) of Premier Talat, known for his pro-unification stance, won 25 of the parliament's 50 seats, while the main opposition party took 31%, or 18 seats. The DP came in second with six seats. “A new day will dawn for the TRNC,” Talat said. “We’ll replace separatist, no-compromise political views with a new policy to promote peace and a permanent resolution.” In related news, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul phoned the leaders of the four parties which won seats in the TRNC Parliament, including Talat, to congratulate them and wish them success in their future work. /Aksam / Star/
STUDENT AMNESTY TO BE DEBATED IN PARLIAMENT TOMORROW
A controversial general student amnesty bill will be taken up by the full Parliament tomorrow. The bill proposing the pardon of some 700,000 students dismissed from universities since June 29, 2000, regardless of the reason, is expected to be passed after its debate in Parliament. Under the measure, students wanting to benefit from the amnesty could apply to their former universities in two months. /Turkiye/
HEALTH MINISTER URGES PATIENCE OVER HANDOVER HITCHES IN SSK HOSPITALS
Turmoil and confusion were seen yesterday at many hospitals in big cities due to the handover of Social Security Authority (SSK) hospitals to state hospitals. Health Minister Recep Akdag pledged to resolve the hospitals’ problems, saying they stemmed from the suddenness of the handover and would not be permanent, and also called on citizens to be patient. He also sent curriculums to hospital administrators nationwide urging them to put on a positive face for the citizenry. /Turkiye/
ITALIAN OFFICIAL SET TO HEAD IMF TURKEY MISSION
An Italian official is reportedly set to become the new chief of the International Monetary Fund’s Turkey mission. The official will replace Reza Moghadam, who has served as mission chief since 2003. /Cumhuriyet/
TURKISH TRADE CENTER TO BE ESTABLISHED IN DUBAI
Abdullah Rashid Lootah, the general coordinator of the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone Authority (JAFZA) in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, yesterday stated that Turkish companies could enjoy many commercial advantages by doing business in JAFZA, particularly in the food sector. Lootah said that a Turkish Trade Center would be established in JAFZA over a 9,000-meter-square area. He also called on Turkish companies to do business in Dubai’s free trade zone, arguing that JAFZA can provide them with more advantageous and profitable opportunities than European countries. /Milliyet/
NY TIMES CALLS FMR ECONOMY MINISTER DERVIS “GOOD CANDIDATE” FOR WB PRESIDENT
As President James Wolfenshon is set to retire in the middle of this year, the World Bank is currently seeking a new leader. According to the New York Times editorial page yesterday, candidates to succeed him include “the former presidents Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico and Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil, and the former and current finance ministers Gordon Brown of Britain, Trevor Manuel of South Africa, Leszek Balcerowicz of Poland and Kemal Dervis of Turkey.” Dervis worked for the WB for 30 years before serving as economy minister under the Bulent Ecevit administration, and now is a main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy for Istanbul. “Good candidates for the job would know the problems of the third world – particularly Africa – and work to solve them,” the editorial added. “They would probably not be bankers because the World Bank is almost the opposite of a bank. It is a development organization that lends money to cure market failures, financing projects whose returns could not attract other lenders. The bank's president should be able to generate enthusiasm for helping the world's poor. And he or she should have experience running a huge, chaotic bureaucracy.” /Aksam/