ANKARA (AA) - ''The new agricultural plans are intended to help Turkey successfully integrate with the European Union,'' has said Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan who spoke to the nation this evening on national television stations said, ''40 percent of the Turkish people work in the agricultural field. We can not ignore the fact that whatever happens in the agricultural sector has an impact on all of Turkey. Our High Planning Agency has prepared a plan for the term 2006-2010, namely Agriculture Strategy Document. This document makes it possible to have long-term goals for Turkish agriculture, rather than just for the upcoming five years. As the government of Turkey, we want to bring Turkish agriculture to the standards of the European Union.''
Prime Minister Erdogan indicated that the government will provide 3.752 billion YTL as a support to Turkish agriculture. ''Our goal is to make credits possible to those in need. We want to increase our agricultural capacity. The new agricultural plans are intended to help Turkey successfully integrate with the European Union. Turkey's agricultural exports in 2004 reached a value of 6.4 billion USD. Turkey presently ranks as the second largest producer of flour in the world. Turkey will become a major exporter of wheat in the world,'' stressed Erdogan.
According to Erdogan, Turkey's goal is to attract 30 million tourists in 2010 and earn 30 billion USD during the same year. ''With its unique culture, rich historical sites and natural wonders, Turkey has become a major tourist destination in the world. In 2004, 17.5 million tourists visited Turkey. In 2004, Turkey earned 15.9 billion USD as income in tourism. Within a very short period of time, we organized the European Champions League final and the Formula 1 race in Istanbul. Such organizations are difficult. However, we have shown the world that Turkey can successfully organize such events. We will continue to organize similar events,'' noted Erdogan.
2005-05-30