PRESIDENT SEZER IN UZBEKISTAN

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer began his tour of Central Asia in Uzbekistan yesterday. A Turkish delegation, including Minister of State, Abdulhaluk Cay, Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry Faruk Logoglu, Undersecretary of Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Yurdakul Yigit, accompanied Mr. Sezer. Uzbek Prime Minister, Utkur Saltanov, welcomed Mr. Sezer upon his arrival. Mr. Sezer then met with Uzbek President Iskam Kerimov. After meetings held between the Turkish and Uzbek delegations, three documents foreseeing cooperation between the two countries were signed. Mr. Sezer and Mr. Kerimov signed the "Common Declaration on the Cooperation between Turkey and Uzbekistan" and "Common Declaration on Cooperating in the Struggle with Terrorism, Drug Trafficking and Organized Crimes". The Head of Logistics Office in the General Command of the Chief of the Staff, Unal Onsipahioglu and Uzbek Minister of Defense Kadir Gulamov signed the "Cooperation on Military Technologies Agreement." Holding a press conference after the meetings, Mr. Sezer and Mr. Kerimov stated that the meetings were very prooductive. Having consulted on both local and global issues, Mr. Sezer said they had opportunity to discuss in detail each countries' fight against terrorism. Mr. Kerimov said he pleased to meet with Mr. Sezer a second time adding that he was also satisfied with the results of the meetings. /Cumhuriyet/

CLINTON CONTINUES HIS EFFORTS

The US President, Bill Clinton, is still trying to do his best to prevent the so-called Armenian genocide bill from being passed in the House of Representatives. Diplomatic sources said that Mr. Clinton, who traveled to Egypt, was closely following the latest developments on the issue. The US Administration is pursuing efforts to prevent the bill from being passed on three fronts. US Secretary of State, Madeleine Bright, and Minister of Defense, William Cohen, sent a letter to the Chairman of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, stating their opposition to the bill. Chairman of the House Committe on Intelligence, Porter Goss, regulary conveys the views of US intelligence circles which are also against the bill to Mr. Hastert. Meanwhile a National Public Radio (NPR) broadcast said the bill demoralized the Turkish nation. Emphasizing that the bill might seriously damage the bilateral relations between Turkey and the US, NPR pointed out that Turkey has already taken certain measures in response to the bill. Warning that further negative developments would be pending if the bill is approved, NPR outlined the steps Turkey has already taken: Turkish Minister of Defense, Sabahattin Cakmakoglu's delayed visit to US, the announcement by Turkey excluding American firms from the bidding process on military and energy projects and the improvement of Turko-Iraqi relations. /Cumhuriyet/

PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER'S ELECTION

The third round of votings for the election of the new Parliamentary Speaker among five candidates will be held at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) today. The candidate who receives 276 votes will be the new Parliamentary Speaker. If none of the candidates reaches this number, the two candidates obtaining the most votes will compete Wednesday in the fourth round of ballotings. In this round, the candidate who gets the most vote will become the new Speaker for a three-year term. /Turkiye/

CEM SENDS LETTER TO ALBRIGHT

Ankara is continuing diplomatic efforts even as it realizes the so-called Armenian genocide bill will most likely be passed by the House of Representatives. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem, sent a letter to his American colleague Madeline Albright urging the American Administration to 'display more effective efforts'. Warning Albright Cem wrote, "This issue is of vital importance. Continue your support less our relations will be damaged." Meanwhile it was learned that Albright sent a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. /Sabah/

CEM: " EVERY EUROPEAN STATE SHOULD INTEGRATE INTO THE EU FOR PEACE"

Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said that peace in Europe can be attained if all countries become members of the EU which is democratic and prosperous. During the opening speech at the Stability Pact meeting, Mr. Cem stated that the stepping down of the autocratic administration in Yugoslavia is a positive development toward ensuring stability in Europe. Mr.Cem said, " We hope the new administration in Yugoslavia will agree with the Stability Pact that 'the requirements for the development of democracy and peace in Kosovo should be carried out'." Mr. Cem said he appreciated the new President of Yugoslavia Vojislav Kostunica's announcement at his official inauguration in support of the Stability Pact. /Hurriyet/

OMBUDSMAN BILL IN PARLIAMENT

The ombudsman bill, which envisages a public office investigative body to ensure that other public institutions are carrying out their work fairly, equitably and with respect to human rights, has been submitted to Parliament. The Ombudsman Board will consist of 10 members and a seniour ombudsman. They will be tasked with looking into complaints regarding the functioning of almost all public institutions, excluding the decisions and actions taken by the President, Parliament and Turkish Armed Forces. The members of the Board and the seniour ombudsman will be elected by Parliament among qualified candidates having a B.A. degree and 15-year experience in either the public or private sector. Additionally, they cannot be a member of any party. /Turkiye-Turkish Daily News/

RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTER VISITS TURKEY

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov will visit Turkey on Oct.23-25 accepting the invitation of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit. According to the announcement made by the Foreign Ministry, the potential for cooperation in economic and commercial relations will be researched during his visit. /Hurriyet/

CAKMAKOGLU RECEIVES CHILEAN DEPUTY DEFENSE MINISTER

Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu received Nelson Hadad, Deputy Defense Minister of Chile, at his office in Ankara yesterday. Hadad will be visiting defense industry complexes in Turkey. Cakmakoglu, in a press conference, emphasized that Turkey and Chile have developed close ties in recent years despite the great distance between the two countries. He said Chile was among those few countries that have managed to complete its defense industry infrastructure. Hadad said he was glad to be in Turkey and expressed thanks to the Turkish government for the hospitality it had extended to him. "I hope that relations between the two countries, particularly in the defense field, will develop even further," said Hadad. /Turkish Daily News/

CAKMAKOGLU'S PEACE MESSAGE

Minister of National Defense, Sabahattin Cakmakoglu spoke on the latest developments in the Middle East. Replying to a question on whether Turkish relations with Israel would be negatively affected by the latest struggles between Israel and Palestine, Mr. Cakmakoglu said, "Turkey and Israel have good relations. Our relations with Muslim Arabian countries are also going well. We desire peace to be established in the region as soon as possible." /Cumhuriyet/

10 PERCENT BONUS FOR CIVIL SERVANTS FOR 2001

Following the meeting of the Council of Ministers, State Minister and Government's Spokesman Sukru Sina Gurel gave the budget numbers for the next fiscal year. He said that the 2001 budget would be TL48.4 quadrillion and that the Council had envisaged a 10 percent salary increase for civil servants in the first six months of nexxt year. The Government will present the budget to the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) today. /Turkiye/

BAKU-CEYHAN TO BE SIGNED

The first of the final agreements for Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan petroleum pipeline project, will be signed in Baku today. The signing ceremony will be chaired by Azerbaijani President Haydar Aliyev. Turkey will be represented by the General Director of Turkish Petroleum Joint Stock Company Osman Demirag. Meanwhile, the 'Transitory Country Agreement', 'Key Delivery Agreement' and the 'Guarantee Certificate Agreement' will be signed in Tbilisi tomorrow and on 19 October in Ankara. /Aksam/

TURKSAT 2-A SATELLITE

Minister of Communication Enis Oksuz upon presentation of the largest satellite in Europe, (the TURKSAT 2-A) in Cannes, France, said, "Turkey will make its mark in space'. The satellite completed all tests successfuly and will be launched into space on 28 November. During the satellite delivery ceremony Oksuz said, "On behalf of the Turkish nation I extend my congratulations for the successful completion of the satellite. The satellite will make broadcasting activities more valuable. TURKSAT 2-A is the most powerful and most modern satellite in the world. It's service will last fifteen years and it will be a financial source for future satellites." In addition, General Director of Turk Telecom, Ibrahim Hakki Alpturk, said that Turkey became partners with Europe and signed a successful project. /Aksam/

ERCEL: "INFLATION RATE WILL BE 10 % IN 2001"

The Governor of the Central Bank Gazi Ercel said they would begin the year 2001 with more confidence. Stressing that next year the inflation rate would be around 10 % percent, Mr. Ercel said that the budget was becoming transparent rapidly and they were determined to continue privatization. /Turkiye/

TOBB VISITS HANNOVER FOR EUROPEAN CHAMBERS' MEETING

The representatives of the Turkish Association of Chambers and Commodity Exchange(TOBB) and 199 businessmen went to Germany to attend the Expo-2000 Trade Fair in Hannover and the meeting of the Association of European Chambers. The group was admitted to the country without any problems regarding visa, passport and customs declarations. The chairman of the TOBB Fuat Miras thanked German authorities for their gesture of good will. "We hope that this will be a good example for other European countries which implement visa procedures for Turkish businessmen, since this causes imperfect competition," he said. At the conference organized by TOBB, German State Minister responsible for the relations with the EU, Wolfgang Senff said, " Turkey is a European country. Everybody should know and accept this fact. I welcome Turkey to the European Union." /Milliyet/

GATES PRAISES TURKEY

Chairman of the huge Microsoft Company, Bill Gates, delivered a speech during the eXCHANGE Event 2000 Fair, organized by Intel in San Fransisco. Prior to his speech he answered questions from the 'Sabah' newspaper and said, "Turkey is open to all sort of new methods. We chose Turkey as a base because of its geographical advantages and young population. Turkey is a very important market that should be considered immediately. Turkey only lacks capital. You should make some arrangements to attract business investments." /Sabah/

AKBANK AND DEUTSCHE BANK JOINLY ORGANIZE EU CONFERENCE

Akbank and the world's biggest bank, Deutsche Bank, are preparing to play an effective role in the process of Turkey's membership to the European Union (EU). The two banks are organizing a series of monthly conferences to discuss the issue. For this purpose, Akbank and Deutsche Bank will bring to Turkey world-famous specialists so they can attend the conferences entitled 'Cooperation for New Solutions' in November. /Sabah/

KOC HOLDING RECEIVES $200 MILLION CREDIT

Koc Holding announced that it will receive $200 million credits from international financial markets. It was stated that the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi Ltd., Barclays Bank PLC, Citibank N.A., Credit Agricole Indosuez, Credit Lyonnais, Deutsche Bank AG., The Fuji Bank Limited and ING Bank N.V. will issue a credit for Koc Holding. Koc Holding received $110 million credit with the participation of 12 banks last November. /Milliyet/

NEW POWER STATION FOR ANKARA

The foundation for Ankara Natural Gas Factories Exchange Power Station, which is expected to produce 6 billion 200 million kilowatt hours electric energy per year, was laid yesterday. The station will be built by the consortium of Bayindir-Mimag and National Power and will cost $465 million. The station is expected to be finished by the year 2002. /Hurriyet/

AGREEMENT SIGNED BETWEEN ROTTERDAM AND ISTANBUL

Rotterdam's Mayor Ivo W. Opstelten, who came to Turkey as the guest of the Chairman of the Executive Board of Cukurova Holding Company, Mehmet Emin Karamehmet, signed a goodwill an agreement with Istanbul's Mayor Ali Mufit Gurtuna to further friendship between the the two cities. Opstelten pointing out the importance of this agreement said, "It is a joining of forces on economic, cultural and social issues." /Aksam/

AWARD TO TURKISH PAINTER IN HOLLAND

Turkish painter Fahrettin Orenli received the Royal Award of Encouragement in Free Art Painting in Holland. Queen Beatrix of Holland presented the award at a ceremony in the Dam Palace to Mr. Orenli who is a student at the Amsterdam State Academy. This year 290 painters participated in the competition with 1300 paintings. /Hurriyet/

GOLD MEDALLION IN WINE

In the 12th International Tekel Wine Contest organized as apart of the Urgup 2000 Kapadokya activities, Doluca took 3, Tekel and Kavaklidere took 2 gold medallions while representatives of other countries took 23 gold medallion. Joining the contest were 60 firms with 185 samples from Argentina, Austria, Brazil, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Shili, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and USA along with 16 private firms from Turkey with 80 samples and Tekel with 8 samples./Hurriyet/

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

THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT FOR TURKEY BY DOGAN HEPER (MILLIYET)

Columnist Dogan Heper writes on the recent developments concerning the situation in Southeastern Turkey. A summary of his column is as follows: "The following can be derived from the words of some of our colleagues who have taken part in the trip to Eastern and Southeastern Turkey: "The military has begun to achieve what the civil authority could not in the East and Southeast of the country and, in a way, have replaced it. At present the military has undertaken many civil the duties following the establishment of security. This extraordinary situation should not continue. An initiative for development should be launched in the Southeast so citizens living in this part of the county can stand on their own feet. Recently, we have seen industrialists with a sense of responsibility announce their initiatives for the region. This approach is bound to please 65 million Turks. For example, Koc group of companies has announced an investment worth 17 million dollars in Urfa, and opened the largest farm in the GAP (Southeastern Anatolia Project) region called 'Koc-Ata Food and Agricultural Products'. As a first step, 1,200 dairy cattle will be raised with another 6,000 cattle for food. Every animal is expected to produce 7,000 litres of milk the first year. The second year 9,000 litres per animal is expected. Thus the productivity of milk at 1,200 litres per year will increase six-seven fold. Koc-Ata company will sign contracts with the farmers in Harran valley and request the farmers to raise livestock. Fodder will be supplied to the farmers and veterinary services will be given. In another development, industrialist Halis Toprak has invested large amounts in Diyarbakir-Lice in Southeastern Anatolia. He is also launching construction initatives in the region. The Chairman of the Yasar Holding Executive Board, Selcuk Yasar, is determined to start industrial investments in the Urfa region. Industrialists, and businessmen accepting their social responsibilities in addition to their commercial duties, are competing with each other to bring services to the region. As employment opportunities for 70,000 village guardsmen, were being discussed these investments are of great significance. A part of the additional tax in the amount of four quatrillion can be a driving force in changing the fate of the East and the Southeast. The money can be used for important services such as the construction of schools, health centers and roads. Thus, cooperation between the State and private sector will ensure lasting peace and calm in a region where terror has been overcome, and a return to normalcy. To broaden these initiatives, the Turkish Association of Industrialists and Businessmen (TUSIAD), Turkish Union of Chambers and Stock Exchanges (TOBB), the chambers of industrialists in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, should cooperate with one another to defend this cause. It is beneficial to repeat the call for private enterprise. Peace for 65 million Turks depends upon abolishing the striking social and economical contrasts, providing employment and agricultural improvements, and reinstating civil authority for those in the East and Southeast. The expansion of private enterprise in Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia is the most significant event in Turkey."

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