NEWS SCAN for Turkey – April 20th, 2013

Down below you will find a summary of topics from major Turkish papers and internet sites.

PM Erdoğan slams protests against wise persons in search of support for peace

Erdoğan who opened the Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque in Ankara yesterday said “The government will defend the country’s ‘red lines’ in efforts to find the Kurdish issue a peaceful solution”. The Prime Minister called protesters “a handful of looters” and said Turkey’s opposition was failing to match the government’s constructive attitude toward pursuing peace in the country.

Minister says Turkey has become the center of the region

Industry Minister Ergün has stated that Turkey has become the center of the region it is located in thanks to its stable growth. Ergün has added that while a number of nations are unable to even perceive their tomorrows, Turkey has embarked upon a Mid-Term program”. He has also declared that investments from all over the world are on the rise and the capital expected to come in mid-term would enjoy a further increase.

Turkey reopening school to move Greek-Turks to Gökçeada

Turkey has decided to reopen the Greek school originally opened in Gökçeada in 1951. The school was closed in 1964 following a decree issued by İsmet İnönü, Turkey’s second president and prime minister at the time, due to growing tensions in Cyprus. Anatolian Greeks that abandoned their homes in Gökçeada 50 years ago would now be able to return to their homes. It is reported that there are about 15,000 Greeks of Gökçeada origin in the entire world.

Turkey determined to invest more in growing cruise tourism

According to reports cruise tourism in Turkey has recently shown remarkable growth. The government aware of the importance of the sector regarding incoming revenues is reported to be eager to raise its share of the global cruise industry. In fact, Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım has made promises to contribute to the sector by upgrading ports which are said to have hosted more than 2 million passengers last year. In first quarter of 2013, a total of 37 cruise ships with 58,329 tourists on board visited Turkish ports in the first quarter of this year.  Statistics show that more than 2 million passengers came to Turkey’s ports with 685 cruise ships last year – a four-fold increase over a decade earlier.

Turkey and China have signed agreement for food safety

Mr. Mehdi Eker (Turkish Minister of Food, Agriculture and Animal Breeding) who gathered with journalists at the Turkish Embassy in Beijing on Friday said  Turkey had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in regards to food safety with Zhi Shuping, Minister of China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision. The Minister also mentioned that signing of memorandum of understanding in regards to food safety was very important for Turkey to export agricultural raw materials and food industrial commodities to China.

Turkish Industry Minister says the issue of security in Europe is deepening even further

Nihat Ergün (Science, Industry and Technology Minister) has made a statement saying “The issue of security in Europe, which was unable to rectify the banking system, is deepening even further.” Ergün has added “Due to the fact that the money injected into the economy is not reaching the real sector, industrialists or consumers, these countries are not growing. Like in the example of  Greek Cypriot administration, the harsh solution methods implemented by banks such as confiscating assets have frightened investors”

20.04.2013
SOURCE: MEDIA

We do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.