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Turkish Press Review, 98-08-21
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
21.08.98
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
CONTENTS
[01] REACTIONS TO GREEK SPEAKER
[02] TURKISH-MACEDONIAN JOINT VENTURE
[03] EZER WEIZMAN DUE TO VISIT ANKARA
[04] DEMIREL: "PEACE AT HOME IS A MUST FOR DEVELOPMENT"
[05] BAYAR: "TARGETS IN PRIVATIZATION WORK PROPERLY"
[06] "WITHOLDING TAX TO BE LOWERED"
[07] ISTANBUL WIIL BE THE CENTRE OF FASHION IN 2010
[01] REACTIONS TO GREEK SPEAKER
In a written statement issued yesterday, the Turkish Foreign
Ministry reacted to a statement by Speaker of the Greek
Parliament, Apostolos Kaklamanis in which he claimed that the
Turkish minority in the Western Thrace had to assimilate into the
Greek community to reach welfare. The Foreign Ministry said that
Kaklamanis' remarks reflected ethnical discrimination and that
Turks would live in comfort in the Western Thrace enjoying their
rights assured by bilateral and multilateral agreements.
/Hurriyet/
[02] TURKISH-MACEDONIAN JOINT VENTURE
The Sunfower oil factory, established by the Turkish-Macedonian
corporation in Strumica, a southern city in Macedonia, will be in
service in September, the Anatolian Agency reported on Thursday.
Coko Crays, the manager of the factory, said that imports of
sunflower oil would decrease when the "Al-Maks" factory started
production. Noting that the factory will initially produce 15
tonnes of unrefined sunflower oil, Krays said that they would
make investments in 1999 to increase the capacity.
The factory, which cost four million German marks, was equipped
with hi-tech equipment by the Swedish Alfa-Lavel and the German
Ketrin factories.
[03] EZER WEIZMAN DUE TO VISIT ANKARA
Israeli President Ezer Weizman will attend the 75th anniversary
celebrations of the Turkish Republic on October 29 as the
official guest of President Suleyman Demirel. As a result of the
improving relations between Turkey and Israel, a chain of
high-level contacts has taken place between the two countries in
the last two years. Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz will go to Israel
in September before the visit of his Isreali counterpart Benjamin
Netanyahu at the end of this year. /Sabah/
[04] DEMIREL: "PEACE AT HOME IS A MUST FOR DEVELOPMENT"
President Suleyman Demirel has said that 'peace at home' is a
must for the development of the country, at the ground breaking
ceremony of Istanbul University Theology Department. Demirel
added that Turkey was a secular and democratic country which
accepted international laws and human rights. "Freedom of belief
is protected by the constitution. There is no controversy between
being a Muslim and being a secularist," said Demirel. /All
papers/
[05] BAYAR: "TARGETS IN PRIVATIZATION WORK PROPERLY"
Chairman of the Privatization Administartion (PA), Ugur Bayar
said that there had been no change in the privatization programme
of Turkey due to the Russian crisis. He added that they targetted
$ 4.5 billion privatization revenue at the end of 1998 and it
seemed that they would reach $ 4 billion at the end of the year.
Bayar also noted that they would start privatization of Turkish
Airlines in October.
Meanwhile, the bidding for the block sale of state-owned shares
of Deniz Transportation Cooperation has begun. According to an
announcement of the chairmanship of the Privatization
Administration (PA) published in the official Gazette, the
temporary deposit for 99.99 percent state-owned shares has been
fixed at $ 2 million. The sale of the cooperation will be carried
out using the bargaining method. /Sabah/Milliyet/
[06] "WITHOLDING TAX TO BE LOWERED"
State Minister responsible for economic affairs, Gunes Taner
announced yesterday that the witholding tax for interbank
transactions would be reduced from 12 percent to 6 percent. Taner
added that this decision would please the markets.
After Taner's announcement, transactions in Istanbul Stock
Exchange was up and there was a 5.2 percent increase in share
certificates prices. Taner said: "Turkey has one of the most
powerful economies among developing countries. Foreign investors
are attending transactions in the stock exchange without facing
any difficulty. They can buy foreign exchange whenever they want.
I belive that foreign investors will again prefer Turkey for
their new investments. /Sabah/Milliyet/
[07] ISTANBUL WIIL BE THE CENTRE OF FASHION IN 2010
The 9th Istanbul Fashion Fair opened yesterday in the World Trade
Centre (CNR) in Istanbul. At the opening ceremony, Chairman of
the Turkish Ready-to-Wear Industrialists' Association, Ismet
Ozcan said that Istanbul would be the centre of fashion in 2010
when there would be no borders in trade.
578 fashion firms from the US, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada,
Russia, Far East and the Middle East attend the IMF '98. It is
expected that over 55,000 consumers will visit the fair which
will end on 23 August. /Sabah/
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