MULTI-DIRECTIONAL DIPLOMATIC VENTURE FROM ABDULLAH GUL
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Assoc. Dr. Abdullah Gul visited the UK for a series of meetings from July 17-20. Following his talks with the Foreign Secretary, Minister Gul attended the opening ceremony of the Gallery of Islamic Arts at the Victoria and Albert Museum as the guest of the ex-Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. During the course of his visit to the UK, Gul also attended the meeting of the board of trustees of the institute of Islamic Studies of the University of Oxford.

Abdullah Gul stressed his views on the need for urgent peacekeeping in the Middle East to the UK Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett.

Following his talks with the Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, at a press conference organised in London, Gul stated that the situation in the Middle East today had not come as a surprise for Turkey and that Turkey had tried to draw the attention of the world to this issue as far back as three months ago. Furthermore, he conveyed to his counterpart Turkey’s efforts to “extinguish the fire.”

Ambassador H E Mr. Akin Alptuna and General Consul Mr. Bahadir Kaleli were also present at the press conference held at the Embassy residence. Answering the questions of the Turkish journalists, Minister Gul said that Turkey did not have the intention to engage in a blind show of power.

TURKISH FESTIVAL TAKES PLACE
Thousands of Londoners participated in the annual Turkish festival organised by the Turkish Forum UK Trust (TFUKT).In the festival held on the banks of the river Thames on the 15th and 16th of July there was also an exhibition of Turkish products.

A number of established companies such as Turkish Bank, Exsa Food, Antepliler, Sweetworld, Ergida, Turkish Tourism Office and Educational Consortium found the opportunity to promote their products. The Chairman of Turkish Forum and the organizer of the event Hasan Taslica said that the purpose of the festival, now in its third year, was to promote Turkey and the Turkish culture. The festival, that attracted the interest of Turkish and foreign journalists, was also visited by the representatives of the Embassy and the Consulate General. (Click here for details)

UK-TURKEY TRADE INCREASE CONTINUES
UK-Turkey Trade continued to show increase during the first seven months of this year.

Forthcoming Events

03.10.2006 - London - Turkish Fashion Fabric Exhibition
11.10.2006 - London - Hometex & Furniture Show
18.10.2006 - London - Banking on Turkey
09.11.2006 - Istanbul - Ankiros-Annofer-Turkcast 2006
13.11.2006 - Mersin - Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Fair
18.11.2006 - Istanbul - 6.International General Assembly
18.11.2006 - Istanbul - INTERMOB 2006 Furniture
22.11.2006 - Istanbul - 11th MUSIAD International Trade
22.11.2006 - Istanbul - 14.International Food Exhibition
11.12.2006 - Mersin - Fruit & Vegetable Buyers Mission
14.12.2006 - Istanbul - ExpoNatura 2006
18.03.2007 - London - The Intl.Food & Drink Exhibition
27.03.2007 - San Francisco - Turkish American Business Conf.
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

NEWS ABOUT OUR MEMBERS

Turkish Bank (UK)
Turkish Bank (UK) has once again shown its strong commitment to serving the Turkish speaking community in the UK by opening a branch in Green Lanes, Palmers Green, North London. The branch will further augment the services provided by the three other branches already open in the area, namely those in Harringay, Dalston and Edmonton, by offering quality service to the business banking and personal market sector clients living in the vicinity. The Bank now has five branches in London and will look to further expand during the coming year.
Turkish Bank also recently announced the launch of a One Year Fixed Deposit Account yielding 5.35% per annum for amounts of £5,000 and over and a 60 day Notice Deposit Account yielding 5.20% per annum (ARP 5.20% p.a.) for amounts of £2,500 and over. For those with an interest in shorter dated notice commitments the bank also offers a 35-day notice account yielding 5% p.a. (ARP 5% p.a.). For further information on this range of products you can click www.turkishbank.co.uk or call 0800 0320480.

Karbach Properties Ltd venture
Our valued member Karbach Properties Ltd. (Mrs Aydan Karbach) have just announced a new venture they have entered into: fund and finance providing. Karbach have entered into partnership with an American company and is able to provide finance ranging from 1 million to 450 million dollars. Hospitals, hotels, construction, medical or chemical projects, construction materials, industrial products, fibre optics, oil and gas projects, data transfers, energy, military equipment, real estate projects as well as council projects all fall within the scope of their clientele. Karbach also assists any Turkish or British individuals or companies who may want to purchase property in the USA. The construction branch of the company works jointly with a registered German company, which acts as a contractor, overseeing the whole of the construction process from beginning to end. Worth mentioning is Karbach’s strength in electrical contracting using the latest German technology which can be implemented in Turkey, the USA or the UK. (Email: Aydan@KarbachGmbH.com, akarbach@yahoo.co.uk, Tel: 00 49 211 649 5230)

John Good Shipping
John Good Shipping has strengthened its links with Turkey through the acquisition of Punta Logistics Ltd, based in Izmir. John Good Shipping has worked closely together with Punta for a number of years and has developed a strong trade between the UK and Turkey during this period. Punta Logistics is well established in the Turkish market and covers all main ports including Istanbul, Izmir, Mersin and Gemlik. Its primary activities are freight forwarding and nvocc operations although it is also experienced in a wide range of other related activities such as trucking, warehousing, customs clearance and project cargoes. Punta Logistics will continue to trade under its own name and will be run by its present Managing Director, Levent Aydinc.

"This is a significant step forward in the history of John Good Shipping," commented Alan Platt, Managing Director. "It is a perfect fit in terms of our long-term strategy for continued growth and development in core markets. It gives us a sure foundation on which to further develop our activities and grow our volumes in this increasingly important trade lane." Further details on Punta Logistics Ltd. and its range of services may be found at www.punta.com.tr