TURKISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES' SUMMIT

The Sixth Turkish-Speaking Countries Summit which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, ended yesterday with the signing of a final document which envisages improved economic, political and cultural relations between them. The leaders who participated in the summit also signed a declaration pledging to fight international terrorism. The meeting was attended by the Presidents of Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan. Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were represented by the Speakers of their national Parliaments. The six Turkish-Speaking Countries have been meeting annually since 1992 to tackle regional problems, mostly related to the gas and oil industries. Following the summit, several of the leaders said talks had focused mainly on speeding up oil and gas pipeline projects, particularly one to send crude from the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan and Georgia to Turkey. /Turkish Daily News/

DEMIREL'S VISIT TO AZERBAIJAN

President Suleyman Demirel, in Azerbaijan to attend the Turkish-Speaking Countries Summit, yesterday met Turkish businessmen investing in this country. On the last day of his visit, Demirel attended a ceremony to celebrate the 1300th anniversary of the birth of Dede Korkut, the famous Turkish Poet. During the ceremony, Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev presented President Demirel with honorary Azerbaijani citizenship. After meeting with the Kyrgyz President, Demirel visited the land which was allocated by the Azerbaijani government for construction of Turkish Embassy. President Demirel left for Turkey last night. /Milliyet/

CEM RETURNS TO TURKEY

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, returned to Turkey from Japan and stated that Japan was an important factor in Turkey's project attempts to involve itself in foreign policies. Cem said, "Japan is very important in terms of helping Turkey to achieve its goals in this century. I am trying to further improve the relations between Japan and Turkey and my Japanese counterparts and I carried out a joint activity plan." Cem added that Turkey and Japan display the best relations of this big geography. /Turkiye/

LEADERS' SUMMIT

The 24th summit between the leaders of the coalition parties will be held tomorrow. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, Deputy Prime Minister Devlet Bahceli and the Chairman of the Motherland Party (ANAP) Mesut Yilmaz will attend the summit during which the election of the new President will be discussed. General rules for the presidential candidacy will be determined during the summit. /Hurriyet/

THIS WEEK IN PARLIAMENT

The process for the election of the 10th President of the Republic of Turkey is expected to start on April 11. The Parliament Speaker's Office is likely to release a communique inviting applications from prospective presidential candidates on Tuesday, April 11. According to the draft prepared by the Speaker's Office, the nomination period for candidates will commence on April 16 with the deadline set for April 25 at midnight. The schedule stipulates that the Parliamentary Advisory Council will meet on April 25 to set the dates for voting sessions, which will be held at a minimum of three-day intervals. The Constitution dictates that the presidential elections be completed by May 15 at the latest. Deputies can either nominate themselves personally as candidates or be nominated by other deputies. An individual from outside Parliament can be nominated for the presidency providing that their nomination is endorsed by 110 deputies, representating one-fifth of Parliament. Debates on the organized industrial zones bill will continue in Parliament. The next bill on Parliament's agenda is an annex protocol on the natural gas agreement between Turkey and Russia designed to transport Russian natural gas by pipeline into Turkey through the Black Sea. /Turkish Daily News/

POLISH AMBASSADOR'S BODY SENT TO POLAND

The body of Poland's Ambassador to Turkey, Miroslaw Palazs, was sent to Poland with a military ceremony yesterday. A funeral was organized for Palazs at Esenboga Airport yesterday, who commited suicide at Bayindir Hospital the day before. Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Faruk Logoglu, delivered a speech, saying, "We are here to say good-bye to Mr. Palazs in his last journey. He was a real gentleman and a man of art and letters. He was also a good friend of Turkey." /Turkiye/

AKYOL'S STATEMENT

Turkey's Permanent Representative to the Partnership Council of the European Union (EU), Ambassador Nihat Akyol, stated that the meeting of the Partnership Council that will be held tomorrow in Luxembourg will bring a new acceleration to the improvement of relations between Ankara and Brussels. It was stated that the relations will be stimulated thanks to the two decisions that will be made during this meeting. The EU's Ministers of Foreign Affairs will be together in Luxembourg within the framework of the General Affairs Council Meeting tomorrow and during this meeting, Turkey will point out the importance that it is giving to the decisions taken in Helsinki and give the message of stimulating relations between Ankara and Helsinki. It was further stated that during this meeting, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, will give information on the latest developments concerning the Presidential Elections in Turkey. /Turkiye/

PASOK AGAIN IN POWER IN GREECE

The PASOK headed by Prime Minister Kostas Simitis again won the general elections in Greece during which more than eight million voters cast their votes in order to determine the new members of the Greek Parliament for the year 2000. The PASOK, which has already been guaranteed more than 150 seats in Parliament, has given the message of 'social reform' to the Greek nation and supported Athens' policy concerning Turkey. It is also reported that two candidates of Turkish origin in Western Thrace from the PASOK also managed to enter the Parliament. /Hurriyet/

ZEMIN: "WE WANT TURKEY TO PLAY A MORE ACTIVE ROLE IN THE WORLD"

In an interview to the daily 'Hurriyet' newspaper, the Chinese Head of State, Jiang Zemin, in a series of important messages to Turkey, said, "We want Turkey to play a more active role in the world." Zemin stated that there was an imbalance in the trade volume between Turkey and China and added, "We encourage Chinese companies to import more products from Turkey. The Chinese government attaches great importance to friendly relations with Turkey. The continuation of these relations will make a significant contribution to regional peace and stability." /Hurriyet/

UNICEF GENERAL DIRECTOR IN ANKARA

UNICEF will discuss the situation of children in the year 2000 at its 45th annual national committees meeting which will be held in Turkey for the first time, reported Turkey's UNICEF national committee. Senior officials of UNICEF's national committees from 38 countries will attend the meeting, which will be held between April 9 and 12 in Ankara. UNICEF General Director Carol Bellamy will attend the meeting along with officials from UNICEF's central office in New York and office in Geneva. /Turkish Daily News/

ARMENIAN LOBBY'S HELICOPTER INITIATIVE

The Armenian lobby, which intensified its activities against Turkey, now started a campaign to block a possible sale decision of the US in the huge attack helicopter bid of the Turkish army. The Armenian National Council of America (ANCA) called its partisans to send fax, electronic mail and letters to Democratic Party candidate and Vice President, Al Gore, against Turkey from being granted the attack helicopter transfer. In the statement of the ANCA, it was claimed that Turkey wanted to use its attack helicopters against Armenia, Greece, the Greek-Cypriot Administration and Syria and that if these helicopters are owned by Turkey, then it would be against the national interest of the US. /Cumhuriyet/

DANGER AT BOSPHORUS

At the Bosphorus a 9,068-gross ton ship with Antigua flag, went aground on Bebek shore at 09:00 p.m. On the way to transfering her load to Kostence, the ship 'Jessilena` was carried away in the wake of locking her steer and stopped five metres from the shore of Bebek after hitting a fishing boat. Following the incident, the enviromentalists protested and stated that the straits were in danger. /Milliyet/

AKKUYU POWER STATION

The period of evaluation concerning the election of the company that will undertake the construction of the nuclear power-station in Akkuyu was expanded again. The period, which was determined before as 7 April by the Directorate General of Turkish Electricity Company (TEAS), was postponed to 21 April due to the fact that the confirmation could not be received from the Treasury Undersecretariat. The Directorate General of TEAS, which was appointed by the Council of Ministers for the construction, sent an announcement to the three firms and stated that this period was extended to 21 April and that the articles of approval and rejection should be announced to the TEAS by 14 April. /Turkiye/

US BRASS BAND TO ATTEND THE TURKISH DAY

The New York Fire-Brigade's band, which is the biggest fire-brigade organization in the world, will attend the 19th traditional Turkish Day in New York. The Deputy Mayor of New York and the Director of the New York Fire-Brigade, Thomas Von Essen, while receiving officials from the Association of Turco-American Federations (TADF), stated that the New York Fire-Brigade band will participate in Turkish Day in New York. He previously promised that the Turkish people will be given positions in New York Fire-Brigade band and that new courses will be opened for the education of Turkish workers. /Turkiye/

INTEGRATION IN THE AGRICULTURE

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Husnu Yusuf Gokalp, stated that new systems would be implemented within the framework of Agricultural Reform and the harmonization of the European Union (EU). Gokalp added that 'Alternative Product Project', 'Compensating Payment System', 'System of Registering the Farmers' and the 'Direct Income Support' will begin to be implemented this year. /Turkiye/

WORLD BANK'S LOAN TO BE USED IN AGRICULTURE AND SOCIAL SECURITY

The loan amounting to 2 billion 250 million dollars that will be received from the World Bank by Turkey within the framework of the Country Aid Strategy (CAS) will be used to implement structural reforms, mostly in agriculture and social security. The reason for using the CAS loans for the specific areas instead of independent project is that the structural reforms are given priority. Within the framework of the CAS project, the loan amounting to 2 billion 250 million dollars will be received from the World Bank and this loan will be used the following year. /Sabah/

LOAN FROM EXIMBANK IN ONE WEEK

Eximbank speeded up its activities concerning the first quarter of the year. During the period of January-March 2000, 2,056 companies received a loan amounting to 1 billion dollars. General Director of Eximbank, Ahmet Kilicoglu, stated that the loan demands of the exporters are met in one week and added, "Particularly, the period of waiting in the queue for the foreign exchange loans came to an end." Kilicoglu recalled that they were trying to decrease the cost of the loan for the exporters to the minimum within the framework of the new foreign exchange policy. /Sabah/

TAX REVENUES INCREASE

The Ministry of Finance, which accrued tax amounting to 2 quadrillion, 923 trillion TL during the first two months of last year and collected the tax amounting to 1 quadrillion, 483 trillion TL. The Ministry of Finance collected the tax amounting to 4 quadrillion 98 trillion TL during the first two months of this year. Thus, it increased the rate of the tax that was collected from 50.76% to 57.81%. /Star/

ENRICO PRAISES TURKEY

The Head of the Pepsi Company, Roger Enrico, has praised Turkey and Turkish doctors through e-mails he sent to his colleagues throughout the world. Enrico stated that he managed to survive a heart attack in 1990 due to the tremendous efforts of Turkish doctors. Enrico's statement has been given wide coverage in the 'BusinessWeek' magazine. /Hurriyet/

ERDEMIR'S TARGET: TOP 10 IN EUROPE

The General Director of the Eregli Iron and Steel Factory (ERDEMIR), Sener Macun, said that their aim was to be among the top 10 producers in Europe in the year 2005. Macun in his statement to the daily 'Hurriyet' newspaper remarked that ERDEMIR which was established 35 years ago was still the biggest and the only integrated institution producing flat steels in Turkey. Macun gave information about their objectives and initiatives for restructuring. /Hurriyet/

TURCO-GREEK FRIENDSHIP IN EMC MANAGEMENT

EMC, one of the world's biggest data storing system producers, has elected Michael Calikusu, whose father is Turkish and mother is Greek, as the Head of the Company, for the region including Turkey and Greece. Calikusu pointed out that friendly relations between Turkey and Greece affected the company's strategy and added, "I will be a bridge between the two countries in order to make the EMC more effective in the Turkish and Greek markets". /Hurriyet/

TURKISH WORKERS' TURN-OVER TOTALS 61 BILLION DM

The number of Turkish people living in the EU countries reaches 3.4 million. According to the Turkish Research Centre, 70% of Turkish population is living in Germany. There are Turkish populations also living in Holland (9%), in France (8.7%) and in Austria (4.4%). The number of Turks working in the EU countries totals 1.178 million, the number of Turkish enterpreneurs amounts to 73,200. The annual turn-over of Turkish workers in the EU countries is 61.2 billion DM. The amount of total investments made by Turkish people stands at 15.4 billion DM. During the 1995-1999 peirod, the number of Turkish enterpreneurs increased by 34.8%, the turn-over by 45%, investments by 49.5% and the employment increased by 72.6%. The contribution of Turks living in Germany to the Gross National Domestic Product totals 78.6 billion DM. /Hurriyet/

TURKISH TELECOM PREPARES FOR ITS NEW MOBILE LICENSE

Turkish Telecom General Director Fatih Yurdal stated that they are planning to establish a 'mobile phone department' within Turkish Telecom. Yurdal also stated that the Ministry of Transport will give one of the three new mobile licenses to Turkish Telecom. He added that it would take time to put the new license into practice because facilities need to be established. /Turkish Daily News/

TURKISH COMPANY IN SUDAN

Erdem Holding will construct three harbours and piers on the Nile in Sudan. Chairman of the Executive Board of Erdem Holding Zeynel Abidin Erdem stated after meetings with the Sudanese government that they had taken up important roles in Sudan's construction. He stressed that the country has a great economic potential and is a gateway to the world for the Central African countries which have no shores. Erdem also emphasized that they were ready to help Turkish investors who want to invest in Sudan. /Aksam/

BOTAS ACCELERATES IMPLEMENTATION OF NATURAL GAS PROJECTS

State-owned Turkish Pipeline Transportation Company (BOTAS) is working to complete the infrastructure arrangements necessary for the implementation of the natural gas deals Turkey has signed with Iran and Russia, the Anatolia News Agency reports. Turkey has completed an agreement on the Blue Stream project with Russia which is intended to transport some 16 billion cubic metres of natural gas to Turkey. Another deal has also been made with Iran to import 10 billion cubic metres of Iranian natural gas. The agreements with Iran and Russia envisage that the transfer of natural gas from these countries will start in 2002. Turkey will have to pay for the gas even if it cannot use it due to infrastructure deficiencies.

INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT UP 6 % IN FEBRUARY

Turkey's industrial production increased by 6% in February compared to the same month last year, the State Institute of Statistics (DIE) announced last Friday. According to DIE statistics, the mining and manufacturing industries' output increased by 6.5 % and 6.7 % respectively in February this year. /Turkish Daily News/

17TH INTERNATIONAL ANKARA MUSIC FESTIVAL

The 17th International Ankara Music Festival will begin on April 27. During the Festival organized by the 'Sevda-Cenap And' Music Foundation, many noted singers including Adamo and Dianne Reeves and world-wide known pianist Fazil Say will perform. The Festival will end on May 16. /Hurriyet/

TURKISH ARTISTS IN KOREA

Four Turkish artists are taking part in the International Kwang-Ju Biannual in Korea which began at the end of last month and will continue until June 7. Works of art by Turkish artists, Ayse Erkmen, Gulsun Karamustafa, Hale Tenger and Bulent Sangar are being displayed at the 'Europe/Africa' department. In addition to Turkey, works of art by 16 artists from various European and African countries are also being exhibited in this section. /Hurriyet/

TURKISH THEATRE MEETING IN AMSTERDAM

The Amsterdam Turkish Theatre Meeting organized by the Turkish Theatre Foundation for the third time will be held between April 18 and 24. Zeliha Berksoy, Genco Erkal, Altan Erkekli and Semih Sergen will attend the meeting as guests. During the meeting, a Turkish play 'Marion and Mehmed' will also be performed. /Hurriyet/

PHOTOGRAPHS OF CHILDREN SURVIVORS OF EARTHQUAKE IN VIENNA

Photographs taken by children survivors of the earthquake living in Izmit Bekirpasa Tent City are being exhibited in the Vienna State Fine Arts Gallery. First of all, nearly 40 children between 9 and 14 ages were taught to take photographs with the support of the Solidarity Volunteers and the French Enfants du Monde. Then, the children exhibited the photographs that they took in the library of Izmit Bekirpasa Tent City and then in the Suleyman Demirel Cultural Centre in Yahyakaptan. Now these photographs are being exhibited in Vienna. This exhibition was opened on 5 April and will be open until 15 April. /Cumhuriyet/

TURKISH WOMAN IN WRESTLING

At the European Women Free Wrestling Championship, Zarife Yildirim won the bronze medal in 75 kilos and became the first ever in Turkish sport history in this field. Yildirim has been interested in wrestling for one year and stressed that her next target was the world championship. /Aksam/

UEFA'S DECISION

The consequence of the second leg of the match between Galatasaray and Leeds United will be taken up today by UEFA. Evaluating the applications of the both clubs, UEFA will inform both sides of its decision. After the incidents in Istanbul last week, Leeds United had declared that they could not ensure the security of the Turkish fans, and asked them not to come for the match which will be held on April 20. Galatasaray desires to play the match in a neutral stadium or without spectators as there is no security for the Turkish players or fans. /Milliyet/

FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS... FROM THE COLUMNS...

EUROPEAN GUARANTEE ON TURCO-GREEK RELATIONS BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)

Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on the possible results of the Greek General Election and its reflection on Turco-Greek relations. A summary of her column is as follows: "The results of the Greek General Election are not certain yet. However, whoever forms the Government, be it PASOK or the New Democracy Party, the process of rapprochement between Turkey and Greece will go on. The speech delivered by Prime Minister Kostas Simitis on the last day of the election campaign is noteworthy as it shows the long-term aims of Greece. The long term aims of Greece are measures against unemployment, the elevation of the standard of living, investments to ensure a balance between the regions, reviving social life and increasing Greek prestige in the international arena. Allowing Turkey's entrance to the EU stems from the desire to concentrate Greek efforts on the European process in the long-term. This stance has become a state policy to be followed by whichever Goverment comes into power. Although the mutual aim of joining the European Union has some risks, it plays a determining role in the development of the rapprochement process. If Turkey is serious in becoming an EU member, she has to solve her problems with Greece and Athens should take part in the negotiations with Europe. "

IT IS TIME BY SEDAT SERTOGLU (SABAH)

Columnist Sedat Sertoglu writes on the Greek General Elections and its results. A summary of his column is as follows: "The Greek General Election is over and it is now time for Ankara and Athens to begin serious decisions. Not only on the Aegean but also on the Cyprus issue, difficult decisions await the two countries. As we believe that victory is achieved at an expense, the powerful governments in the two capitals must take the steps which need courage. It is evident that the people in the two countries sincerely desire solutions to the problems between them. Not only the peoples of the two countries but the world waits for these solutions. We believe that Ecevit, who in the past has shown the courage to order a military operation in 1974, will be able to further the peace process started by Foreign Ministers Ismail Cem and George Papandreu. Some sort of disarmament may be the first step as new measures are needed to establish mutual trust. Other measures may be the disarmament of the Aegean islands by Greece, and abolishing the Aegean Army or reducing it to a symbolic size in Turkey. The Armed Forces of both countries can find areas where they can cooperate closely. A new process can begin in Cyprus. A quadrilateral summit can take place. The solution of problems between Turkey and Greece will accelerate the EU memberhip process of our country. "

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