ECEVIT TO TRAVEL TO US TODAY
Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit will begin his visit to the United States today. During the Jan. 14-18 visit, the premier will be accompanied by a delegation of 200, including government ministers, parliamenterians, bureaucracts and businessmen as well as journalists. Ecevit is scheduled to meet with US President George W. Bush on Wednesday, Jan. 16 in the White House. Major topics which are expected to be discussed during the visit are cooperation in the fight against terrorism, Afghanistan, Iraq, the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), Cyprus, the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline and economic relations, as well as bilateral and regional issues. /All Papers/
ECEVIT MEETS WITH BUSINESSMEN
Before beginning his US visit, Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit yesterday met with businessmen to talk about the trip. Stressing the level of strategic cooperation that Turkey and the US have recently developed, Ecevit said, "However, our economic relations have not yet reached the desired level. The opportunities which the US has extended to Israel, Jordan and the EU have not been extended to Turkey. We will address this situation during the visit." Ecevit added that he would ask the US administration to erase Turkey's $5 billion defense industry debt. Pointing to the weakness of the Turkish lobby in the US, Ecevit said, "We can't be able to get we want from this visit in the short-term." All Papers/
DENKTAS : 'SOLUTION FIRST, EU LATER'
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas yesterday gave a review of his upcoming meeting this week with Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides. Appearing on Turkish state channel TRT1, Denktas stated that both he and Clerides were quite familiar with the island's dilemma, adding, "The important thing is intentions. The other side has bad intentions. They think that they will become a member of the EU as the 'government of Cyprus,' and that this way they will be able to make any agreement they want in an atmosphere that casts Turkish Cypriots as a 'minority.' This is unacceptable." He said that the solution to the Cyprus problem was the establishment of a new partnership. "This can be also two partner and separate territories, which have equal rights and equal shares in the sovereignty," Denktas stated. "In addition, we do not want to meet with the Greek Cypriot administration through mediators because in such situations the US, the UN and (UN Cyprus Envoy Alvaro( de Soto only listen to the Greek Cypriot side. As for the issue of the missing people, the Greek Cypriots have used this issue as a means of propaganda. However, a commission has been established under the auspices of the UN. The Secretariat-General has established criteria on this issue. We have accepted these criteria, but the Greek Cypriots have not, instead preferring to use the issue for propaganda purposes." /Cumhuriyet/
GREEK CYPRIOTS PLAN DEMONSTRATION
In the runup to this week's meeting between Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot leader Glafcos Clerides, a demonstration reportedly will be held in Greek Cyprus to protest the existense of the TRNC and the presence of Turkish Armed Forces soldiers in the island. Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Representative for Cyprus Alvaro De Soto arrived in Cyprus yesterday to participate in the meeting scheduled for Jan. 16. /Turkiye/
EXPERT TURKISH DELEGATION VISITS KABUL
A delegation of five professors and experts lead by Prof. Ihsan Dogramaci is continuing its contacts in Afghanistan. The Turkish delegation met yesterday with high-level Afghan officials in Kabul to exchange views on a number of topics. /Turkiye/
TREASURY TO SELL 112-DAY BILLS
Tomorrow the Treasury will hold an auction of bills with a redemption period of 112 days. The bills are value dated Wednesday, Jan. 16, and their redemption is scheduled for May 8 of this year. /Turkiye/
RESTORED TURKISH MEMORIAL UNVEILED IN GEORGIA
Yesterday the village of Aragvand in Georgia unveiled a newly restored Turkish memorial in a ceremony. Georgia's restoration of the "Türkmen Emirleri" monument stands in stark contrast to Saudi Arabia's recent destruction of a historic Ottoman castle. /Star/
BEKO TARGETS LARGER MARKET SHARE
Turkish applience maker BEKO electronics is laying plans to take the number three market share in Europe with its television sales. BEKO General Director Aydin Cubukcu said yesterday that the company has the same technology and capacity as other European producers and had sold more then 3.5 million television sets this year. This shows, he predicted, that BEKO can take an important place in the European market. /Hürriyet/
RUSSIAN DAILY: "TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY IS PROGRESSING"
Russian newspaper Moskovski Komsomolets reported yesterday that Turkish foreign policy was evolving and progressing in the wake of last September's terrorist attacks. Ankara's renewed activity to process the extradition of Chechen terrorist Mavladi Udugov is proof of this evolution, the capital city daily said. /Hürriyet/
PLANS LAID FOR TURKEY'S FIRST CONFERENCE HOTEL
Yesterday plans were unveiled for the construction of Turkey's first hotel/conference center, a facility in Istanbul that will have the capacity to host 10,000 convention-goers. An official from Grand Cevahir Hotel and Conference Center, Serpil Keskin, touted the project, saying, "One of the biggest problems of big conventions in recent years has been people being scattered around various hotels during the meetings. This has been due to a lack of space and insufficient meeting and conference halls at the available hotels. "The center, which is planned for the Mecidiyekoy district, will include 15 meeting halls and 150 telephone lines for the press. /Cumhuriyet/
NUMBER OF TOURISTS VISITING TURKEY STRIKES 11%
The Turkish Tourism Ministry released a statement this weekend reporting that the number of tourists visiting Turkey last year increased 11% when compared to 2000 to reach a total of 11.57 million as compared to 10.4 million in 2000. Germany sent more tourists to Turkey than any other country last year, namely 2.9 million. /Aksam/
BIDDING OPENS FOR ANKARA-ISTANBUL RAPID TRAIN PROJECT
The bidding process for a project to modernize the current Ankara-Istanbul railway was officially initiated yesterday by the Directorate General of Railway, Harbor and Airport Management (DLH). Reportedly, many European companies, including ones from Belgium, as well as at least one Chinese company are vying to win the project to decrease travel time between Turkey's two largest cities to four-and-a-half hours. Many foreign companies made pre-bidding applications to the DLH last week, and those companies deemed eligible to present full proposals will be announced later. /Aksam/
OIL EXECUTIVE: "TURKEY WILL BE A BRIDGE FOR NATURAL GAS TO EUROPE"
Paul Skinner, an executive at the Shell Oil Company, predicted yesterday that the next 50 years would see natural gas assume a more important role in world energy supplies and that furthermore Turkey would become a "bridge" to transport the Caspian natural gas to Europe. Skinner said he believed that natural gas would become the world's most important source of energy, emphasizing that Shell stood ready to invest in the local natural gas and petroleum market if Turkey's energy sector is privatized. He added, "Shell Gas & Power Turkey, which was established for this purpose, plans to make more investments in Turkey if legal reforms are made in the energy sector. Shell is the biggest foreign investor in Turkey through InterGen in terms of energy. We support the Turkmen natural gas project. We and our partner Enka are also overseeing the electric power-station project in Adapazari, Gebze and Izmir, which works with natural gas and will begin to produce energy in the middle of this year." /Sabah/
ISRAELI COMPANY TOP CONTENDER FOR C-130 MODERNIZATION
Israeli defense industry company IMI, which recently entered a bid to modernize 1,170 Turkish M-5 tanks, is now reportedly the top contender in a bid to modernize seven C-130 transport planes' aviation systems. The Defense Industry Undersecretariat recently decided to begin meetings with IMI to discuss their bid. In the undersecretariat's evaluation of 14 companies applying for the contract, another Israeli company, Elbit Systems Ltd., reportedly came in second. /Aksam/
FAZIL SAY DEBUTS CONCERTO IN PARIS
World-famous Turkish pianist Fazil Say debuted his latest composition, his "Piano Concerto No. 4," this weekend at the Champs Elysées Theatre in Paris. The French National Orchestra led by world-renowned conductor Kurt Masur accompanied Say. At the end of the four-part concerto, Say played an encore of the second part in response to enthusiastic demands from the French audience. /Cumhuriyet/
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION