News Scan for Turkey, July 07th 2017

Turkish Deputy PM not welcome in Netherlands: Dutch gov’t

The Dutch government on July 7 declared that Deputy Prime Minister Tuğrul Türkeş was not welcome to travel to the Netherlands for a ceremony among Turkish expatriates commemorating the July 15, 2016 failed coup attempt.

A statement by the Foreign Ministry said attendance by Türkeş or other members of Turkey’s government was undesirable “given the current circumstances in the bilateral relations between our land”.

Shortly before Dutch national elections in March, the Dutch authorities refused to allow Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Family Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya to enter the country to campaign for the April 16 referendum on constitutional amendments.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-deputy-pm-not-welcome-in-netherlands-dutch-govt.aspx?pageID=238&nID=115220&NewsCatID=351

Chair of Turkey’s CHP responds to Erdoğan: ‘Since when does one need permission to seek justice?’

On the 22nd day of the Justice March, chair of Turkey’s main opposition CHP, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, gave statements responding to latest assertions of President Erdoğan the massive march of the opposition.

Kılıçdaroğlu said on Thursday (July 6): “Nobody should forget this: we are holding this march for ‘justice.’ Some say ‘well, you are able to march because we permit it.’ Since when has seeking justice become at the mercy of someone? We are getting closer to Sunday and we are going to hold our public meeting without any problem”.

http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/chair-of-turkey-s-chp-responds-to-erdogan-since-when-does-one-need-permission-to-seek-justice-168601.html

Turkey keen on implementing economic reforms: Deputy PM

Turkey is continuing its efforts to further implement structural economic reforms, Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said on Wednesday. “We will continue to implement reforms. As per instructions of our president, we have a 180-day action plan and efforts are underway to implement it,” Canikli said.

Canikli said Turkey would witness a single-digit inflation rate by the end of 2017. “Amid high economic growth in Turkey, decline in inflation is very valuable development,” he said.

The country’s inflation rate decreased to 10.90 percent year-on-year in June from 11.72 percent in May, data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) showed on July 3. Canikli said Turkey would surpass the target of 4.4 percent growth rate in its medium-term Program.

http://www.yenisafak.com/en/economy/turkey-keen-on-implementing-economic-reforms-deputy-pm-2748687

Turkey’s TÜBİTAK to ensure more efficient use of local coal reserves

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) has taken important steps to ensure that Turkey’s coal reserves, totaling more than 13 billion tons, will be used more efficiently and in an environmentally friendly way.

TÜBİTAK, which previously called on companies to produce auxiliary elements and subsystems for thermal power plants, will now pave the way for the production of “coal combustion systems.” The systems will be suitable for burning low-quality coal, bringing combustion efficiency to its highest level and minimizing environmental impact. Within the scope of the project, TL 7 million ($1.93 million) in support will be provided to the firms that can produce the said system.

TÜBİTAK has called for the relevant companies to more efficiently evaluate lignite reserves with low calorific value, as well as high sulfur, moisture and ash content.

https://www.dailysabah.com/energy/2017/07/07/turkeys-tubitak-to-ensure-more-efficient-use-of-local-coal-reserves

Majority of Syrians in Turkey employed in unregistered work for lower wages: Survey

The vast majority of Syrians in Turkey are employed in unregistered work for significantly lower wages compared to their Turkish counterparts, a new survey has shown.

According to a survey by the United Metalworkers Union with 604 Syrian and Turkish textile workers, Syrians work for wages that are 25 percent lower on average than Turkish employees. The union’s survey, titled “Syrian Migrants’ Labor,” was conducted with a total of 604 textile workers at factories in Istanbul’s Bağcılar and Güngören districts, where underground businesses are very common.

The study revealed a huge wage gap between Turkish and Syrian workers, although 33 percent of all participants were found to be working below the minimum wage of 1,404 Turkish Liras per month (around $386).

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/majority-of-syrians-in-turkey-employed-in-unregistered-work-for-lower-wages-survey.aspx?pageID=238&nID=115198&NewsCatID=347

Global cement giant opens 140-mln euro plant in Central Anatolian city Sivas

Brazil’s Votorantim Cimentos, one of the world’s leading cement producers, opened a production plant in the Central Anatolian province of Sivas for a 140 million euro investment on July 5 in a bid to boost its expansion in the region.

This was also the largest industrial investment which has ever been made in Sivas, according to a follow-up press release. Through this investment, the company modernized the Sivas Cement Factory, for which the foundation was laid back in 1938 and which later became the first plant built by the state after the Turkish Republic was founded, read the release.

The company, which has production plants across Turkey, plans a further 35 million Turkish Lira (8.5 million euro) investment in Turkey in 2017, it added. Votorantim Cimentos Türkiye Global CEO Walter Dissinger said Turkey has big growth potential in terms of construction and exports. The company has operations in a total of 14 countries and has a 57.5 million ton of annual production capacity, according to the release.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/global-cement-giant-opens-140-mln-euro-plant-in-central-anatolian-city-sivas.aspx?pageID=238&nID=115214&NewsCatID=345

180-day action plan to bring relief to Turkish citizens

nder the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the government is taking steps to carry out a 180-day action plan that will address around 260 major public issues.

The plan was a key item on the agenda of the latest Cabinet meeting.

At the meeting, held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, the ministers submitted their project proposals to the Undersecretariat of the Prime Ministry. However, after too many projects were submitted for the 180-day plan, the ministers were instructed to “limit their proposals to only 10 items.”

According to reports, the projects that will be considered on a prioritized basis include, “Projects that are important for citizens which are likely to be realized in a short time and will bring immediate relief to society.” In other words, the action plan will touch the lives of average citizens with every article, from beginning to end, while projects that will bring immediate results or comprehensive change will be considered.

https://www.dailysabah.com/economy/2017/07/07/180-day-action-plan-to-bring-relief-to-turkish-citizens

07.07.2017
compiled by Editor BTT

This is a news-scan from major Turkish papers and internet sites. However, we do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.