SEZER RECEIVES JIAXUAN

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer received the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs and the accompanying delegation, who are in Ankara on an official visit. Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ismail Cem and the Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ugur Ziyal also attended the reception. Cem and his Chinese counterpart signed an action plan to develop relations between the two countries in various areas. Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Tang Jiaxuan said, "The Silk Road of the 21st century will be built between China and Turkey and will be brighter". He said he was very pleased to be in Turkey, and there was a common language and common interests between the two countries. He added the partnership should be built between the two countries in the new century. Meanwhile, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ismail Cem said the rapproachement between Turkey and China became more concrete thanks to the action plan signed between the two countries. Cem added, "180 million Chinese tourists go abroad for holiday every year and we decided to make some changes and take some steps so Chinese tourists will be directed to Turkey. This issue is of the utmost importance for Turkey. China also welcomes the idea." /Aksam/

CONSENSUS AT THE SUMMIT

The government partners, who discussed the Constitutional amendment package, reached consensus during the Summit. It was stated that no objection came from the partners over the 101st Article which concerns the term of the President, the 69th Article to make the closing of the parties more difficult and the temporary 15th Article to open the 12 September practices to the control of jurisdiction. Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit said, "During the meeting held by the 57th Coalition Government party leaders, consensus was reached on all issues. There is no problem regarding the issue of the Constitution. We reached a consensus, but this is not the Government's duty, but the duty of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA). The decisions of the TGNA are important." The Summit was also attended by the Deputy Prime Ministers Devlet Bahceli, Mesut Yilmaz and Husamettin Ozkan and the Minister of Justice Hikmet Sami Turk. /Aksam/

ANKARA'S HEAVY DIPLOMATIC TRAFFIC

Georgian Head of State Eduard Shevardnadze will pay an official visit to Turkey on 29-30 January. It was stated the aim of the visit was to improve cooperation between the two countries in many areas and to exchange opinions concerning regional and international issues. Meanwhile, Cuba's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Felipe Perez Roque, will pay an official visit to Turkey on 17-18 January upon the invitation of the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ismail Cem. It was stated the mutual political and economic relations and international issues of interest to both countries will be discussed during the meetings between Cem and Roque. /Aksam/

HANNAY IN ANKARA

British Special Representative to Cyprus, David Hannay, held contacts in Ankara yesterday. Visiting Turkey, after Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Rauf Denktas's withdrawal from the proximity talks, Hannay emphasized the importance of continuing the talks. Meeting with Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Ambassador Faruk Logoglu and other authorities, Hannay was informed about the views of the Turkish sides. /Cumhuriyet/

MOSES ON CYPRUS

US President's Special Representative to Cyprus, Alfred Moses and the US Secretary of State's Special Coordinator to Cyprus, Thomas Weston arrived in Cyprus to hold contacts with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the Greek-Cypriot Administration. Moses in a statement at Larnaca Airport said, "It was decided the negotiations will continue at the end of this month." TRNC's President, Rauf Denktas received Moses and said, "We are always open to negotiations. However, the proximity talks are over for us." Denktas repeated that the solution depends upon the basis of two States." /Aksam/

TALABANI IN ANKARA

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (IKYB) leader, Celal Talabani arrived in Ankara to hold contacts. Deputy Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Turkekul Kurttekin welcomed him at the airport. Talabani gave a statement at the airport saying, "I will ask for support so the process of Ankara will be accelerated during my contacts." He rejected claims that there have been clashes in the region of Suleymaniye, involving nearly 10,000 soldiers. He said, "These are all false statements. I have never seen a Turkish soldier in Suleymaniye". /Aksam/

TGNA DISCUSSES ARMENIAN BILL IN PLENARY SESSION

The political parties' group deputy chairmen met yesterday to discuss the bill on the so-called Armenian genocide currently under discussion in the French Assembly. It was agreed the TGNA Plenary Session should prepare a declaration on the issue and a text was written. The text is expected to be announced to the public in the Plenary Session today. /Star/

TGNA DELEGATION IN PARIS

A delegation from the Turkish Grand National Assembly went to Paris to prevent the passage of a Bill on the so-called Armenian Genocide. The bill will be voted in the French National Assembly after having been approved in the French Senate. Bulent Akarcali from the Motherland Party, Tayyibe Gulek from the Democratic Left Party, Nevzat Yalcintas from the Virtue Party, Huseyin Celik from the True Path Party and Huseyin Cerrahoglu from the Nationalist Action Party were a part of the delegation. The Bill will be discussed in the Foreign Relations Committee of the French National Assembly on January 10 and be put to vote after discussion at the plenary council./Milliyet/

MILITARY DIALOGUE BETWEEN TURKEY AND ISRAEL

Military dialogue meetings between Turkey and Israel is to begin today in the Office of Chief of General Staff Headquarters. The joint Israeli and Turkish military maneuvres, to be held between Jnauary 17-18 will be discussed during the meetings. According to the Secretary General of Office of Chief of General Staff's statement, cooperation on the military and defense industry and other common issues related to bilateral relations will be discussed during the meetings. /Cumhuriyet/

DEAN OF THE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY STABBED

Sociology Professor Zekeriya Beyaz, who drew reactions of Islamic circles due to his statements concerning turban, was seriously injured from a knife wound at Marmara University's School of Theology. He was the target of Islamic circles due to his book entitled 'Islam and Dress Code'. He was attacked during a conversation organized with the students at Nuri Sevil Conference Hall yesterday. Beyaz was taken to hospital. /Aksam/

TURKEY DOES NOT HAVE A PROBLEM OF FAMINE

According to the 'Year 2001's World Map of Famine' of the World Food Programme (WFP), an organization attached to the United Nations (UN), there is no famine in Turkey. According to the data in the map and the attached reports, Turkey, the US, Canada, Australia and the European countries are not in the famine category. Famine and bad nutrition are most common in Asia and the African countries. The reasons for bad nutrition in particular are wars, poverty, lack of seeds and similar equipment for production, drought and flood. /Aksam/

GREEK AND TURKISH SPECIALISTS DISCUSS EARTHQUAKE

The first part of the "Evaluating and Repairing Quake Damage in Buildings" seminar, organized jointly by Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers and Greek Chamber of Technique, began yesterday in Athens. A common declaration will be announced after the second leg of the seminars to be held in Turkey. The second part will be held in Bogaizici University, Istanbul between January 11-12. /Cumhuriyet/

GREECE'S SUPPORT FOR THE KOBIS

The Greek industrialist and businessmen organizations settled in Thessalonica applied to the European Union (EU) to establish an advisor institution that will serve the Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (KOBIs). In their proposals, the Greek businessmen pointed out the above-mentioned advisory institution should serve for four years and that within the framework of this initiative, they envision establishing a business information center in four provinces. /Cumhuriyet/

EDUCATIONAL COOPERATION WITH CYPRUS

Turkey has prepared an action plan to cooperate with Cyprus on education. According to the action plan, which was not announced to the public, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will become a part of the Turkish educational system with its 150 schools and 32,000 students. The quality of education and the number of student will be increased on Cyprus. Within the framework of the action plan, Middle East Technical University (METU) will establish its second campus on Cyprus. /Cumhuriyet/

LAND FORCES COMMANDER GOES TO PAKISTAN

A delegation led by Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, Commander of the Turkish Land Forces, has gone to Pakistan as guests of the Pakistani Head of State, Gen. Pervez Musherref. The Turkish military delegation is scheduled to meet the Pakistani President and the commanders of the Pakistani Navy and Air Force as well as pay visits to several military barracks and installations. /Turkish Daily News/

LAUNCHING OF TURKSAT 2A DELAYED

The launching of TURKSAT 2A was delayed due to the bad meteorological conditions in French Guiana. Turkey is the sixth country with a satellite in the space. TURKSAT 2A will provide Turkey with new communication opportunities. /Star/

WATER TUNNEL IN BOSPHORUS

Turkey's first undersea water tunnel will be constructed in the Bosphorus. The General Director of the State Water Works (DSI), Dogan Altinbilek, stated the project would solve Istanbul's water problem until the year 2040. /Hurriyet/

TURQUALITY IN THE WORLD

Qualified products of Turkey will be exhibited at various shops in many countries under the patent "Turquality" by the Foreign Trade Undersecretariat. Foreign Trade Undersecretary Kursad Tuzmen said they would implement the project this year. /Sabah/

IMF DELEGATION TO VISIT TURKEY

The IMF Delegation will visit Turkey January 12. The delegation will investigate the privatization process and banking sector. It is expected to gather information on the restructring process of public banks. It was stated the IMF wants to propose a privatization calendar to the Turkish government. /Star/

TOBB DELEGATION TO VISIT GERMANY

The Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) is sending a delegation to Frankfurt, Germany. The delegation consists of parliamentarians, Minister of State Tunca Toskay, high-level bureucrats and about 200 businessmen. The delegation will visit Heim Textile Fair tomorrow. Later, members of the delegation will attend a cooperation meeting to be held between Turkish and German businessmen in Frankfurt January 11. The delegation is expected to return Turkey on January 12. /Star/

ACTUAL INFLOW OF FOREIGN CAPITAL $ 1.3 BILLION

The actual inflow of foreign capital during 10 months of last year was $ 1 billion 307 million. According to the Treasury Undersecretary's statement, the actual inflow of foreign capital during the last year exceeded the previous highest number, $953 million in 1998. /Star/

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INCREASES

According to data from the State Statistics Institute (SIS), production in the industrial sector increased during November, 2000, by 10.5 %. Compared to 1999 numbers, there has been an increase of 1.5 % in mining, 12 % in manufacturing, 1.8 % in electricity, gas and water sectors. /Star/

TL 362 TRILLION IN UNEMPLOYMENT FUND

The Unemployment Insurance Fund, implemented on June 1, has accumulated around $517 million. The Fund Executive Board announced the seven-month report of the fund's activities. $340 million was gathered from the employees and employers' insurance premiums. The Treasury transferred $177 million to the Fund as the state contribution. /Hurriyet/

IMKB INDEX INCREASES BY 5.5 %

The Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) index increased by 553 points and reached 10,560 yesterday. The total transaction volume amounted to 370.2 trillion TL. /Hurriyet/

TURKISH TREASURY RECEIVES AWARDS ON JANUARY 11

The Turkish Treasury received 'The Bond of the Year' and 'The Developing Markets Bond of the Year' awards from the International Finance Review (IFR) for the year 2000. Treasury Undersecretary Selcuk Demiralp and Deputy Undersecretary and the former General Director of Foreign Economic Relations, Aydin Karaoz, will receive the awards during a ceremony to be held in London on January 11. /Hurriyet/

BAKU-CEYHAN TAKES A START

The countdown has begun on Baku-Ceyhan-Tbilisi pipeline project. In preparation for the detail services of the engineering works on the project, bidding will be held by BOTAS Company. Botas will take bids from three British, two American, and one German firm./Turkiye/

50 MILLION DOLLARS FOR PERMANENT HOUSES

A $ 50 million project was provided by the European Council Development Bank for construction of permanent houses for the victims of Marmara earthquake. Official approval by the cabinet for the use of the credit was promulgated in the Official Gazette./Turkiye/

TAX COUNCIL WILL CONVENE ON JANUARY 24

Finance Minister Sumer Oral said yesterday the Tax Council would convene on January 24 to secure coordination between the public and private sectors in the struggle against unregistered economic activities, reconsideration of problems emanating from the application of current tax laws, and the opportunity for simple and clear expression of the current tax laws. /Turkiye/

IHA NEWS AGENCY

Directors of News agencies from the Balkan Countries convened at the Caravel Hotel in Athens on January 8 to discuss digital technology, sports, and the Olympic games of 2004. Ihlas News Agency from Turkey participated in the panel discussions./Turkiye/

COUNTRY TARGETTING IS SUCCESSFUL IN TERMS OF EXPORT

In most of the countries elected as 'target markets' an increase of exports was detected. Exports to the US, which is one of the target countries of the year 2000, increased by 22.9% when compared to the corresponding of the first ten months of the last year and reached 2 billion 518.8 million US dollars. Exports to Canada also increased by 18.8% and reached 145.9 million US dollars. /Cumhuriyet/

IBM'S PROPOSAL TO VESTEL

The world's leading electronic companies are competing for cooperating with Vestel at the Electronic Fair organized in Las Vegas, US. IBM and Quantum are among the companies which proposed partnership with Vestel concerning the new TV's with recording capability. Many companies applied to market Vestel's 'Internet Terminal' in the US. Vestel's Director of Production, Hakan Kutlu, said, "We got the signal at this fair that we will have the same success in the US that we earned in Europe." /Milliyet/

TURKEY'S NOTE TO GREECE

As a result of the increase in terrorist attacks against Turkish diplomatic representatives in Greece, Turkey gave a note to Greece last Saturday. In the note, information was demanded concerning the car bombing of the Athens Embassy's Economic Councillor, Mehmet Karakaya, and the identities of the criminals were demanded. The note also stated that Turkey had the right to demand compensation from the Greek Administration. The note pointed out that the number of attacks against the Turkish diplomatic mission increased to five in the last three years, and it was implied that Greece stop its support of terrorism. /Milliyet/

GALATASARAY ON TOP AGAIN

After being elected as the most successful team of the year 2000 in a CNN news channel survey, Galatasaray was elected as the second best team by the International Federation of Football History Statistics (IFFHS) yesterday. Vice President of Galatasaray, Mehmet Cansun, said, "Receiving this award is a big honor for me." /Aksam/

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

WHAT'S IN A MEETING? BY SAMI KOHEN (MILLIYET)

Columnist Sami Kohen writes on the Cyprus issue and the TRNC's decision not to attend any more talks. A summary of his column is as follows: Mustafa Akinci is an experienced and respected politician in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus(TRNC). Akinci,the leader of the Socialist Liberation Party (SLP), is serving in the Coalition Government as Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister. Although SLP is a coalition partner in Prime Minister Dervis Eroglu's Government, Akinci does not occasionally refrain from advocating policies contrary to 'official' policies. He continues to defend his contrary views on the solution of the Cyprus issue and voices them time and again. For example when President Rauf Denktas put to vote his decision to withdraw from the proximity talks, Akinci and his friends cast their votes against it. At present, as the initiatives to revive the talks are increasing, Akinci is voicing different views and trying to convey them to Ankara. Akinci explains the reason he is against breaking off the proximity talks due to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's unacceptable demands in the fifth round as such:'It is the wrong strategy to not attend the talks. To participate in the sixth round of talks does not mean we accept the UN Secretary General's views. These opinions are open to discussion. The Turkish side can express its opposition at the negotiating table. An approach which seems as though the Turkish-Cypriot side is escaping from the talks would lead to undesired reactions by the international community. In return, this would create negative results for the TRNC and Turkey.' Akinci believes that expecting the existence and sovereignty of the TRNC to be accepted before sitting at the table, is at the least, naive. If this is put forth as a pre-condition, the talks would be blocked. This, in turn would create difficulties for Turkey. These difficulties would be felt especially in Turco-EU relations. Believing Turkish-Cypriots are responsible for the breaking off of talks, and not finding a solution, would facilitate Greek-Cypriot full EU membership and would lead to the exclusion of the TRNC from the EU. Additionally it would block Turkey's admittance into the Union. In this case, Akinci states the Green Line would become a border, not between the two sides in Cyprus, but between Turkey and the EU and would lead to the migration of Greek-Cypriots. At first sight this may seem an exaggerated point of view, but we have to accept that many circles in the TRNC are concerned about the issue. It is expected that with the Action Plan the Partnership Council will discuss, the solution of Turkish-Cypriots economic and social problems and the steps to improve them, will be taken up. News concerning the meeting has created hopes in the TRNC. However, there are many Turkish Cypriots who believe this will not be a solution by itself. Last week, a high-ranking diplomat of an EU member country sent a message, in a conversation with foreign policy writers, that it would be a great mistake if Denktas does not return to the talks. First of all, he would lose the opportunity to reject the views he does not like, and defend his own views. Furthermore, he would give the impression that he is escaping from the negotiating table. This would be against Turkey's interests while it is entering a process with the EU with the Accession Partnership Document and National Program. In fact, all these factors should be taken into consideration when forming new strategies concerning Cyprus."

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