MODERN TURKEY AND HISTORICAL CHALLENGES MEETING
The House of Lords, 30 November 2006
"Modern Turkey and Historical Challenges" Meeting organised by Remzi Gür, President of Turkish-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TBCCI), was hosted by Lord Ahmed of Rotherham at the House of Lords on Thursday, 30 November 2006. Lord Ahmed; Remzi Gür, Chairman of TBCCI; Hüsamettin Kavi, Chairman of the Assembly at Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO); Yasar Yakis, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, AKP’s Member of the Parliament from Düzce and President of EU Alignment Committee; and Justin McCarthy, Professor of History at Louisville University expressed their views in a variety of subjects during this meeting.
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Lord Ahmed explaining that sidelining Turkey from EU would do more harm to EU than Turkey and that French government was making a big mistake for a few Armenian votes said ‘There are those who are supporting Turkey and the Turks. British government is supporting Turkey’.
Husamettin Kavi said that conditions of competition around the world have changed since 1980s, and Turkey has succeeded in adapting to these conditions and it is now enjoying a better status in the international competition. Kavi also underlined that, during these accession negotiations for Turkey, EU must help ease the burden of the current visa practices that business people, students and members of non-governmental organisations are subjected to. In addition, Kavi also mentioned the Armenian issue and said, ‘Establishment of stronger economical ties with Armenians will, of course, solve all these problems.’
Yasar Yakis based a major part of his speech on the problem of Cyprus. He said negotiations between Turkey and EU has been suspended in eight of the 35 sections and claimed that 470 million strong EU was being held to ransom by 600 thousand Greek Cypriots, which was totally unacceptable. Stating that EU attitude to Turkey was technically, historically and ethically wrong, Yakis pointed out that topics that were not part of Copenhagen criteria have been put on the table once the negotiations had started and added: ‘EU is making a technical error by putting the Cyprus problem on the table.
Professor McCarthy said there is a one-sided accusation regarding the so-called Armenian genocide. Ottoman and Armenian documents have shown facts quite different to the so-called genocide claims and that in fact English documents have supported the Turkish thesis in this respect. He added; ‘Ottoman archives have revealed this historical fact with a great consistency. There are hundreds of documents in the Ottoman archives stating the governmental orders to protect the lives and possessions of Armenians and other minorities. It is quite shocking to hear people talking about Armenians all the time while no one is uttering a single word about the Moslems, Turks and Kurds who have died at that time and not mentioning any of the documents revealing the real history. Expressing that Ottoman documents were not false McCarthy said that 1397 Ottoman citizens have been subjected to legal proceedings due to acts against Armenians, but none of the Armenians have been subjected to such proceedings for the crimes they committed against the Ottoman State and its citizens.
Click here for the full text of the addresses
FRESH ANTALYA 2007 EXHIBITION
Fresh Fruits, Vegetables, Logistics and Technologies
Antalya Expo Center, 29-31 March 2007
Fresh Antalya 2007 exhibition is organised by the General Secretariat of Antalya Exporters’ Union ( www.aib.org.tr) and Anfas Fairs (www.anfas.com.tr) under the auspices of the Prime Ministry Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade (www.dtm.gov.tr). In this exhibition, fresh fruit and vegetable sector, growers, food processors, equipment manufacturers, distributors, merchants, exporters and importers will get together and share their demands and expectations. As known, Antalya is situated on the Mediterranean coast. Thanks to the fertile lands, it is rich in variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Moreover, it is especially known for its healthy and organic food production. For further information, visit the web address www.freshantalya.com.
BUYERS MISSION PROGRAMME
For this particular exhibition, the Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade is organising a special Buyers Mission Programme between 27-31 March 2007. Buyers from selected countries including the UK are invited to join in the Mission. For the companies attending the Mission, a briefing, bilateral business meetings with the Turkish companies, exhibition tour, visit to production places and a special city tour will be organised. The aim of Buyers Mission is to facilitate establishment of trade relations between prospective importers and Turkish exporters in an effective way. To take part in this event, please fill the participation form at http://www.dtm.gov.tr/ihr/fuar/tanitim/ek5%20basvuru_firma.doc and return to dtlon@turkishtrade.org.uk or fax to 020 7235 22 07 no later than 20 February 2007.
UK-TURKEY TRADE
UK-Turkey trade increased by 10.1% in October 2006. In the January-October period, the trade between the two countries achieved an increased of 10.4%.
October
| ($ million) |
Oct 06 |
Oct 05 |
Change |
| Import |
590.3 |
551.7 |
7.0% |
| Export |
455.4 |
398.3 |
14.3% |
| Total |
1045.7 |
950.0 |
10.1% |
January - October
| ($ million) |
Jan-Sept 06 |
Jan-Sept 05 |
Change |
| Import |
5,410.4 |
4,813.8 |
12.4% |
| Export |
4,168.9 |
3,861.7 |
8.0% |
| Total |
9,579.3 |
8,675.5 |
10.4% |
18.03.2007 - London - The Intl.Food & Drink Exhibition
27.03.2007 - San Francisco - Turkish American Business Conf.
29.03.2007 - Antalya - Fresh Antalya 2007 Exhibition.
06.06.2007 - Istanbul - International Mining Congress
04.07.2007 - Istanbul - World Chambers Congress
Click on an Event Link to view the full details, or contact the TBCCI office |
