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Turkish Press Review 96-06-17
From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>
CONTENTS
[01] DEMIREL VISITS BOSNIA
[02] UN PRAISES TURKEY FOR HABITAT
[03] ISTANBUL BOURSE DRAWS UP OUTLINES FOR INTERNATIONAL STOCK MARKET
[04] TURKISH BUSINESSMEN TOP FOREIGN INVESTORS IN KAZAKHSTAN
[05] 16 PKK MILITANTS KILLED IN SOUTHEAST
[06] FOREIGNERS TO BE ISSUED PERMITS MORE EASILY
[07] HAMMER FORCE EXTENSION
[08] US INTERVENES BETWEEN TURKEY AND GREECE
[09] IMPORTS FROM EUROPE INCREASE
[10] TURCO-ISRAELI COMMERCIAL AGREEMENT
[11] GAP EXPORTS BOOM
TURKISH PRESS REVIEW
MONDAY JUNE 17, 1996
Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning
[01] DEMIREL VISITS BOSNIA
President Suleyman Demirel is today visiting Bosnia upon the
official invitation of Bosnian President Alia Izzetbegovic.
Demirel's programme includes participation in the opening
ceremony of a Turkish Embassy in Mostar, and meeting with Turkish
soldiers stationed in Zenica. During his meeting with his Bosnian
counterpart, Demirel is expected to discuss issues regarding
Turco-Bosnian cooperation, as well as ways for bringing to life
the Bosnia-Herzegovina-Croatia Federation. /Cumhuriyet/
[02] UN PRAISES TURKEY FOR HABITAT
Habitat Secretary General Wally N'Dow said that Habitat II had
been a successful conference for which Turkey had exerted great
effort and congratulated President Suleyman Demirel and the
Turkish nation. Noting that many heads of state, ministers,
deputies, representatives from private sector and
non-governmental organizations throughout the world had
participated in the conference, N'Dow stated that decisions which
would benefit people's future were taken at the conference. He
said: "Economic, social and political issues which interest all
countries in the world were discussed".
Meanwhile, the Istanbul Declaration, a statement of "political
will", expressed the conference's endorsement of the "universal
goals of ensuring adequate shelter for all and making human
settlements safer, more liveable, equitable, sustainable and more
productive" and a "commitment to better standards of living in
larger freedom for all humankind". In a sentence added during the
final day's deliberations, the Istanbul conference was said to
mark "a new era of cooperation, an era of a culture of
solidarity". /Sabah/
[03] ISTANBUL BOURSE DRAWS UP OUTLINES FOR INTERNATIONAL STOCK MARKET
The Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) has drawn up outlines to
regulate stock trading on its international securities market,
according to a decree published in the Official Gazette on
Friday. The decree, issued by the capital market board SPK, said
that the currency to be used on the international bourse will be
the US dollar. It said all transactions, including prices, fees,
collaterals, penalties and interest payments, will be carried out
in dollar values.
The executive board of the IMKB will be authorized to allow
foreign stocks and other foreign financial instruments, Turkish
and foreign depository certificates and Turkish government papers
to be traded on the international market. An International Market
Quotations Committee will be formed, according to the SPK decree.
Its members will be assigned by the IMKB board. The banks and
brokerage houses to trade on the new market will have to win
licences from the free zones department at the Foreign Trade
Undersecretariat and to win authorization for market transactions
from the IMKB. The decree also said all depository services at
the market will be given by officials authorized by the
stockbrokers. /Sabah/
[04] TURKISH BUSINESSMEN TOP FOREIGN INVESTORS IN KAZAKHSTAN
Turkish businessmen top a list of foreign investors in the
Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan, a senior Kazakh finance
official has said. Vladimir Shishikov, head of the foreign
investment committee at the Kazakh Finance Ministry, noted that a
total of 111 Turkish companies have so far registered themselves
in Kazakhstan, ranking first among all foreign investors.
Shishikov said China ranked second with 80 companies and the
Russian Federation third with 75. He also said Turkey was top
creditor to Kazakhstan. He said Kazakhstan, between 1992 and
1995, had borrowed $2 billion from foreign creditors. /All
papers/
[05] 16 PKK MILITANTS KILLED IN SOUTHEAST
Turkish security forces killed 16 militants of the PKK terrorist
organization yesterday in operations carried out in Hakkari's
Cukurca district and the northern Iraqi border region. The
operations involved 15,000 troops, which have penetrated 6-7
kilometres into Iraqi territory. The emergency rule region
governor has stated that the number of terrorists killed during
the operations, which have been going on for four days, has
reached 163. During clashes in Van, Sirnak and Mardin, 12
militants were killed and two arrested. In searches conducted
after the operations on and around Bagok Mountain many weapons,
mines, bullets and documents were found in shelters there. The
shelters were later destroyed. /Sabah-Hurriyet/
[06] FOREIGNERS TO BE ISSUED PERMITS MORE EASILY
The draft law on decreasing bureaucratic processes in the
residence of foreign nationals in Turkey has been submitted to
the Interior Commission of the Parliament. According to the draft
law, which aims to conform the Turkish regulations to the
regulations of EU member countries, the residence permit of
foreigners in Turkey will be five years. The Interior Ministry
has the right to shorten or extend this period according to the
principle of reciprocity. The permit can be given to a family
consisting of the husband and wife and their children under 18
either collectively or personally. Foreigners who want to renew
or extend the period of their permit have to apply within 15 days
after the permit expires. Those who have not moved or divorced do
not have to submit a declaration when renewing or extending the
period of their permits. /Sabah/
[07] HAMMER FORCE EXTENSION
Following a two hour Sunday meeting of the National Security
Council, it was decided that the stay of the multinational
"hammer" strike force deployed in Turkey should be extended. Both
military leaders and the Foreign Ministry appear to be more
positive in their attitude to an extension of the force, the
mandate of which includes the protection of Kurds in northern
Iraq.
The strike force is a highly sensitive issue in Turkey, and in
talks with the US administration, Ankara has demanded a number of
changes in the operation and administration of the force. Turkey,
together with Britain, France and the US has a share in the
administration of the force. /Hurriyet/
[08] US INTERVENES BETWEEN TURKEY AND GREECE
During the recent NATO meeting in Brussels, a top level US
official, Chief of staff president John Shalikashvili managed
work a deal with his Turkish and Greek counterparts to cool the
situation in the Aegean Sea. Tempers are running high in the
region, which is known for producing tension between Greece and
Turkey, but reports from Brussels indicate that Shalikashvili has
managed to ease the situation through talks with both sides.
Reports say that Shalikashvili managed to extract a promise from
both sides that nothing would be done by either party to
aggravate the situation, and turn a strained situation into a
serious crisis. According to the Greek press, Shalikashvili has
managed to set-up a base for further talks. /Milliyet/
[09] IMPORTS FROM EUROPE INCREASE
As anticipated at the beginning of the year when Turkey moved
into customs union with the European Union (EU) countries,
Turkey's imports from the EU have increased, but exports have
remained dismally low. During the first six months of this year,
imports from the EU have increased by 24.4% over the same period
last year.
Noting that the Turkish Customs Administration has been caught on
the hop, sector leaders complain that the Administration has been
unable to pull it all together and get in line with EU policy.
Germany leads the top five EU countries exporting to Turkey, and
is followed by Italy, France, Britain and Holland. /Sabah/
[10] TURCO-ISRAELI COMMERCIAL AGREEMENT
Turkey and Israel have signed an agreement aimed at improving
bilateral commercial relations. The text of the agreement for
commercial, economic, industrial, technical and scientific
cooperation was published in yesterday's edition of the Official
Gazette. Both countries have agreed to facilitate the transit
passage of each other's commercial goods being transported to
third countries, and to recognize reciprocal tax exemptions for
goods being imported for commercial fairs and expositions. Turkey
and Israel have also reached an accord to cooperate in technical
and scientific research and develop joint projects. /Hurriyet/
[11] GAP EXPORTS BOOM
Textile exports made from provinces included in the scope of the
GAP project for the first five months of the year have exceeded
$48 million. This figure represents a 13.4 percent increase in
comparison to the same period last year. /Hurriyet/
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