NEWS SCAN for Turkey – Nov 27th, 2013
Turkish-manufactured Renault Clio enters Japanese market
The French auto manufacturer Renault’s Turkish unit has shipped the first batch of its supermini to Japan. Debuting at the 43rd Tokyo Motor Show, the “Made in Turkey” Clio – renamed to Lutecia for the Japanese market – will expand Renault’s offerings in Japan where 5 million cars are sold annually.
Partnered by Oyak Holding in Turkey, Renault exported USD 3.1 billion worth of Turkish-manufactured motor vehicles in 2012, mainly to Western European and CIS countries.
Turkey hosts Renault’s largest production plant outside Western Europe in Bursa, where the company’s Clio, Megane and Fluence models, including the electric Fluence ZE version, are being manufactured.
The sixth largest auto manufacturer and the top maker of light commercial vehicles in Europe, Turkey’s auto industry rolled out 1.1 million motor vehicles in 2012 under well-known brands including Toyota, Ford, Fiat, Honda and Hyundai as well as Renault.
INVEST.GOV.TR
Turkey-Russia eye increased trade, joint auto production
Turkish-Russian trade and business ties are to grow stronger following Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s official visit to Russia where two sides have agreed on extending the level of cooperation in a number of fields, including automotive, energy and tourism.
Taking the bilateral trade to USD 100 billion by 2020 and joint automotive production by Turkish and Russian companies were extensively discussed at the 4th Turkey-Russia High-Level Cooperation Council meeting held in St. Petersburg, attended by Prime Minister Erdogan and Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
According to sources, the Russian automotive company GAZ and a Turkish partner will jointly invest in a production plant in Turkey’s Sakarya province, turning the existing assembly operation to serial production. GAZ currently manufactures light commercial vehicles in Turkey.
Turkey and Russia have also set a bilateral trade volume target of USD 100 billion to be reached by 2020, up from 2012’s USD 35 billion. An important trade partner to Turkey, Russia is building Turkey’s first nuclear power plant in Akkuyu, Mersin.
INVEST.GOV.TR
İzmir braces for World EXPO 2020 host decision
The Paris-based Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) will announce the host for the World EXPO 2020 today. There are four contestant cities: Turkey’s İzmir, Russia’s Ekaterinburg, the UAE’s Dubai and Brazil’s Sao Paulo for EXPO.
Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Nov. 25 that Turkish delegations at the ministerial level, ministry representatives, EXPO authorities, embassies and the business world had held talks with 97 percent of 167 BIE member countries.
Izmir’s theme is “New Routes to a Better World / Health for All.” İzmir’s climate, geographical position, historical richness, transportation and organizational capacity were emphasized during the talks, the officials said.
The World Expo has been held every five years since the maiden edition in London in 1851.
The expositions showcase technology, architecture and culture over the six months, while drawing visitors to host cities and generating business. Yıldırım stated they expected to host around 30 million visitors during the six months if İzmir hosts EXPO 2020.
Furthermore, if İzmir wins EXPO, many projects will be accomplished from 2014 to 2020. The EXPO 2020 executive committee is planning to create a 155 million euro budget. The purpose of this is to help developing countries take part in more health care and social responsibility projects.
HURRIYET DAILY NEWS
Egypt coup provokes political row in Turkey
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has defended the correctness of the government’s regional policy, particularly on Egypt, even as the opposition has excoriated the administration for sparking fights with an ever-increasing number of neighbors.
Opposition figures claim the government is insisting on an imprudent regional policy that has ensured the country now has no ambassador in three important neighbors: Israel, Syria and Egypt.
Prime Minister Erdoğan refused to sound any notes of contrition yesterday, repeating his criticism of the overthrow of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.
“Our criticism of this coup, as Turkey, and our support for our Egyptian siblings have naturally annoyed the coup rulers in a serious way,” he said, addressing a parliamentary group meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Cairo said Nov. 23 it was expelling Turkish Ambassador Hüseyin Avni Botsalı and accused Ankara of backing organizations bent on undermining the country – an apparent reference to the Muslim Brotherhood of Morsi.
Turkey fined 52,000 euros for man’s injuries in 2007 operation in Tunceli
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) fined Turkey 52,285 euros for violating the right to life regarding Hıdır Taydaş, who was left permanently disabled after an operation in his house in Tunceli by the gendarmerie forces in 2007.
The ECHR fined Turkey 52,000 euros for non-pecuniary damage and 285 euros for pecuniary damage. In the case, Taydaş reported excessive force used by the Turkish security forces.
Taydaş claimed he had been shot by a gendarmerie special operations team on Sept. 7, 2007 when leaving a neighbor’s house in the eastern province Tunceli, and as a result, he was left permanently disabled.
HURRIYET DAILY NEWS
Turkish Interior Ministry: 500 citizens fighting with al-Nusra in Syria
According to a recent report published by the Interior Ministry, approximately 500 Turkish citizens have gone to Syria to fight alongside the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, adding that among these 500, some have received training in al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The report, based on information and data obtained from the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and the National Police Department, says more than 500 Turkish citizens have joined the ranks of al-Nusra and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and that many Turkish citizens have died during clashes between the rebels and Assad’s forces. According to official data, 13 Turkish fighters with al-Nusra have been killed during the clashes.
The report adds that around 75 other Turkish citizens, whose names were not recorded, have also been killed in the Syrian conflict.
TODAYS ZAMAN
Foreign journalists baffled by gov’t decision to shut down prep schools
Representatives of foreign media outlets in İstanbul had a difficult time on Tuesday understanding the rationale behind the government’s decision to close private prep schools across Turkey.
The Journalists’ and Writers Foundation’s (GYV) Medialog Platform’s 26th meeting of the “Covering Turkey” seminar series held in İstanbul on Tuesday addressed a highly debated issue in the Turkish socio-political context: the past, present and future of prep schools. The questions of the foreign journalists present centered on how a government could shut down private institutions; they were unable to understand the intervention in private enterprise. A foreign correspondent, Gunnar Köhne from Deutsche Welle, said it would be no different to interfere with privately owned kebab houses. Frank Nordhausen from Berliner Zeitung and Frankfurter Rundschau told Today’s Zaman that based on what he heard in the meeting, he was not able to understand why it is necessary to close prep schools, since it would have a negative effect on the owners. He said that he heard the speakers in the meeting argue that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan might be doing it to please some constituency whom he believes is unhappy with prep schools.
“Erdoğan says that he wants to make prep schools private, but they are already private,” said another Turkey-based journalist, Ricardo Gines from La Vanguardia, in comments to Today’s Zaman. He said it is not clear why the government wants to close the schools.
TODAYS ZAMAN
Turkish-Iranian dialogue crucial: Turkish FM
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkish-Iranian dialogue is quite crucial in this critical period when sectarian tensions are tried to be provoked, while speaking at a think tank institution in Tehran on Tuesday.
Stating that Turkey is pleased that P5+1 and Iran reached an agreement in Geneva, Turkish FM said that Turkey has been contributing to the nuclear deal for more than six years.
“The agreement between Iran, Turkey and Brazil in 2010 was a missed opportunity. If that agreement was respected rather than going to further sanctions I am sure that it would be an easier asset for today’s agreement because Iran did not enrich 20% of uranium,” stated Davuoglu. Davutoglu said that Turkey doesn’t want nuclear weapon in the region, “But at the same time we don’t want any limitation on peaceful technology in any way” added Davutoglu
Davutoglu also underlined that Turkey is in favor of all peaceful technological development and this agreement in that sense.
AA
27.11.2013
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.
