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Turkish Press Review, 98-06-25
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
25.06.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] EGYPTIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER IN TURKEY
[02] TURKS REBUILDING MOSCOW
[03] ERCEL AND DINCMEN IN US
[04] RETIREMENT AT 60
[05] POLISH PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT TO MILLIYET
[06] CYPRUS NOTE TO LONDON
[07] HACI SABANCI PASSES AWAY
[08] DYNAMITE EXPLODES: FIVE DEAD
[09] ANKARA REITERATES IT IS NOT HIDING DOCUMENTS ON NAZI GOLD
[10] EUROPEAN COUNCIL CONFERENCE
[11] SOLINGEN OFFENDER TO PAY DM 18,000
[12] BIR: "REPUBLIC WILL CONTINUE TO LIVE"
[13] TURKEY RAISES DUTY RATE ON DIESEL
[14] MUFTI SENTENCED ONCE AGAIN
[15] TURKISH CLOTHING, TEXTILE EXPORTS UP 5 %
[16] TURKEY PARTICIPATES IN CHEMICAL DISARMAMENT SYMPOSIUM
[17] TRNC PRESIDENT IN VIENNA
[18] BASESGIOGLU SENDS LETTER TO BSEC COUNTRIES
[19] NEGOTIATIONS FOR FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
[20] TURKEY EXPORTS CAPITAL
[21] GREEK AND TURKISH PRESIDENTS VISIT CYPRUS
[22] TURKEY, EGYPT SIGN NATURAL GAS TREATY
[23] BRITISH TRADE MINISTRY PROMOTES INVESTMENT IN TURKEY
[24] GERMANY BLOCKS TURKISH ARMS PRODUCTION
[01] EGYPTIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER IN TURKEY
Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister Fethi El-Sazli, who arrived in
Ankara yesterday, met with Turkish State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel
today. The Egyptian delegation, headed by Sazli, will have contacts on
bilateral and regional issues until Friday, the Anatolia news agency
reported yesterday.
[02] TURKS REBUILDING MOSCOW
A recent article in Time magazine underlined that Turkish
contracting companies are rebuilding Moscow. One of the Turkish
companies, ABKA, has undertaken 14 projects worth $87 million. Together
with the French CIBEX firm, ABKA started initiatives for the
reconstruction of the Moscow Finance Academy and for two huge projects
worth $14 million for the construction of a new Russian bank. ABKA is
also carrying out projects in Kazakhstan and the Ukraine. /Milliyet/
[03] ERCEL AND DINCMEN IN US
Treasury Undersecretary, Yener Dincmen, and Head of the Central
Bank, Gazi Ercel, went to Washington yesterday to hold contacts
regarding a Staff Monitoring Programme to be signed between Turkey and
the IMF on Friday. /Milliyet/
[04] RETIREMENT AT 60
Turkish State Minister responsible for the economy Isin Celebi and
Labour and Social Security Minister Nami Cagan yesterday signed a
protocol, which includes the principles that will hold place in proposed
draft reforms. According to the protocol, the retirement age for men
will be 60, while for women it will be 57. However, this implementation
will only cover people who will start working by 1.1.1999. The protocol
was submitted to Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Deputy Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit yesterday. /Milliyet/
[05] POLISH PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT TO MILLIYET
Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski said in a statement to
Milliyet daily newspaper yesterday that Poland understood Turkey's
problems in relations with Europe. Kwasniewski said: "Poland has been
excluded from Europe for many years. We do not want Turkey to suffer
the same pain".
[06] CYPRUS NOTE TO LONDON
Turkey has called upon Britain, one of the guarantor countries in
Cyprus, to carry out its responsibilities in connection with preventing
the negative developments on the island. Turkey handed a note to
Britain yesterday within the framework of the 1960 Guarantee Agreement.
According to a written statement made by the Turkish Foreign Ministry
yesterday, diplomatic initiatives are continuing to stop the activities
of the Greek Cypriot Administration and Greece to upset the balances,
stability and security in Cyprus. /Milliyet/
[07] HACI SABANCI PASSES AWAY
Chairman of the Haci Omer Sabanci Foundation and Deputy Chairman of
the Executive Board of the Sabanci Conglomorate, Haci Sabanci, died in
Istanbul yesterday. The body of the noted businessman will be buried in
Adana tomorrow. /Milliyet/
[08] DYNAMITE EXPLODES: FIVE DEAD
As the result of a dynamite explosion during road construction in
the Ermenek district, Karaman, yesterday, five workers died, and two
other workers were injured in the blast. /Milliyet/
[09] ANKARA REITERATES IT IS NOT HIDING DOCUMENTS ON NAZI GOLD
Accused of supplying Nazi Germany with hard currency and chrome
during World War II, Turkey reiterated yesterday that it is not hiding
any facts related to that period. State Minister Sukru Sina Gurel said
in a press conference yesterday that even before the issues of Nazi gold
and German assets were brought to international attention in late 1996
and in 1997, Turkey's clear and open position on the matter had been
revealed by Turkish statesmen and diplomats. He added that the US
report on the issue was not objective because it was based only on
American records; documents belonging to France and Britain, who entered
the war two years before the US, were not taken into account. /All
papers/
[10] EUROPEAN COUNCIL CONFERENCE
During a European Council-Local Autonomy Condition Conference,
which ended in Trabzon yesterday, the financial autonomy of local
administrations was discussed and it was agreed that without financial
autonomy, democracy could not succeed. Experts from the European
Council and representatives from Turkey, Russia, Bulgaria, the Ukraine,
Georgia, Armenia, Moldova and Romania attended the conference.
/Cumhuriyet/
[11] SOLINGEN OFFENDER TO PAY DM 18,000
The first decision taken on an arson attack, which happened in the
Solingen district of Germany five years ago and caused the death of five
people has been announced at the Wuppertal Provincial Court. According
to the decision, Christian R., who was sentenced 10 years in prison,
will pay compensation worth DM 18,000 to the husband and daughter of
Gulsum Ince, who died during the incident. /Sabah/
[12] BIR: "REPUBLIC WILL CONTINUE TO LIVE"
Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen.Cevik Bir gave a briefing to a
delegation from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
Parliamentarians' Union and a delegation from Turkish Parliamentarians'
Union regarding the Cyprus issue yesterday. During the briefing, the
deployment of Russian-made S-300 missiles in the Greek Cypriot
Administration was mainly taken up. Fundamentalist activities in Turkey
were also discussed in the briefing. Gen.Bir said: "We established the
republic and we will keep it alive". /Sabah/
[13] TURKEY RAISES DUTY RATE ON DIESEL
The Cabinet has decided to raise the duty rate on diesel brought
into the country from northern Iraq from 60 % to 80 %, the Anatolia news
agency reported yesterday. Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, State
Minister Ahat Andican said: "The diesel coming from this region under
the heading of border trade is responsible for treasury losses of $1.5
billion". "By raising the tax level and limiting regional trade, its
impact on the national economy will be avoided" Andican noted.
[14] MUFTI SENTENCED ONCE AGAIN
A Greek court in Western Thrace has sentenced Mehmet Emin Aga, an
ethnic Turkish mufti (Muslim clergyman), to 14 months in prison as a
result of three separate lawsuits, the Anatolia news agency reported
yesterday.
[15] TURKISH CLOTHING, TEXTILE EXPORTS UP 5 %
Turkey's textiles and clothing exports rose 5 % in the first five
months of 1998 to $4.581 billion from $4.356 billion in the same period
last year, the Istanbul Textiles and Clothing Exporters' Union reported
yesterday.
[16] TURKEY PARTICIPATES IN CHEMICAL DISARMAMENT SYMPOSIUM
Turkey is participating in a chemical weapons disarmament symposium
staged in the Middle East for the first time, reports the Anatolia news
agency. Jordan is hosting the tow-day symposium which is being held
between June 24-25.
[17] TRNC PRESIDENT IN VIENNA
Rauf Denktas, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC), said yesterday that the Greek Cypriot side had given an open
cheque to the Russians with the S-300 missiles contract in order to
upset the balances in the Mediterranean, the Anatolia news agency
reported yesterday. Denktas, in Vienna for a three-day official visit,
met with Kurt Waldheim, former UN Secretary-General and former Austrian
President and detailed recent developments in Cyprus.
[18] BASESGIOGLU SENDS LETTER TO BSEC COUNTRIES
Murat Basesgioglu, Interior Minister, yesterday sent letters to the
interior ministers of the member countries of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC), requesting them to cooperate in the struggle against
terrorism and drug smuggling, the Anatolia news agency reported
yesterday.
[19] NEGOTIATIONS FOR FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
Negotiations held between Turkey and Bulgaria for the signing of a
free trade agreement have been concluded, the Anatolia news agency
reported yesterday. The Undersecretariat of the Treasury said that the
agreement, which was initialled on June 19, is expected to be signed
during the forthcoming visit of the Bulgarian Prime Minister to Turkey.
[20] TURKEY EXPORTS CAPITAL
Yener Dincmen, Undersecretary of the Treasury, said that Turkish
contracting companies undertook nearly $30 billions worth of
construction business abroad and realized $1.457 billion in direct
exports of capital, reports the Anatolia news agency. Recalling that
the US, Europe and Japan want to enter the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) market via Turkey, Dincmen said that this would play an
important role in bringing foreign capital into Turkey.
[21] GREEK AND TURKISH PRESIDENTS VISIT CYPRUS
Greek President Stefanapulos is going to the Greek Cypriot
administration to pay an official four-day visit. The president will
leave Cyprus on June 28 when Suleyman Demirel, President of Turkey, will
go to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). /Hurriyet/
[22] TURKEY, EGYPT SIGN NATURAL GAS TREATY
Turkey and Egypt signed yesterday an agreement which foresees the
construction of a pipeline under the Mediterranean Sea for the
transportation of natural gas that Turkey will buy from Egypt. At least
five billion cubic metres of natural gas will be conveyed from Egypt to
Iskenderun, an east Mediterranean port. /Hurriyet/
[23] BRITISH TRADE MINISTRY PROMOTES INVESTMENT IN TURKEY
The British Trade and Industry Ministry has started a campaign for
upgrading economic relations with Turkey. The official opening of the
campaign will be made during a conference to be attended today by
Turkish State Minister Isin Celebi and British Trade Minister Lord
Clinton Davis. Britain, which increased its exports to Turkey by 12 %
last year, wants to further increase the trade volume between the two
countries and is encouraging British firms to invest in Turkey. British
Ambassador to Ankara, David Logan, and officials from the British Trade
and Industry Ministry in their comments noted the stability in Turkey
and said that Turkey had a huge trade capacity. /Hurriyet/
[24] GERMANY BLOCKS TURKISH ARMS PRODUCTION
Germany has once again blocked the Turkish defence industry by not
allowing a German firm to make equipment for the Turkish Machine and
Chemical Industry (MKE). The Heckler-Koch goup won MKE a bid worth DM
22.5 million in November 1997, for producing automatic bomb launchers in
Turkey but could not start because of the German government's
disapproval. MKE officials are planning to transfer the project to
Spanish, Israeli or US firms which also participated in the bidding.
/Hurriyet/
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