A Turkish diplomatic official, speaking to Today's Zaman on condition of anonymity, has dismissed a report in the Turkish media that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director David Petraeus's visit to Turkey aims to mend ties between former allies Turkey and Israel, adding that mediation is not necessary.The Radikal daily reported on Thursday that the main goal of Petraeus's one-day surprise visit to Turke ...

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Kirkuk Governor Representative Necmettin Kerim. DHA PhotoTurkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited north Iraq city of Kirkuk today. His visit comes a day after Davutoglu met northern Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) leader Masoud Barzani, for talks that focused on the conflict in Syria, and at a time of notably cool relations between Baghdad and A ...

Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate pays first official visit to Greek Patriarchate in Istanbul’s Fener district. Among the topics discussed are the reopening of Halki seminary and restoration of Büyükada orphanage The head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate paid a historic visit to Greek Patriarch Bartholomew I yesterday at Istanbul’s Fener Greek Patriarchate and gave the religious figure his ful ...

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard arrived in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Thursday in order to discuss the preparations for the 100th anniversary commemorations of the Canakkale Campaign in 2015. ANKARA- Gillard will be received by President Abdullah Gul and meet Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and will discuss preparations for the 100th anniversary commemorations of the Canakkale Campaign in ...

Turkey's prime minister said on Thursday that his visit to Qatar would contribute to bilateral relations with that country. Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he believed his visit to Qatar would also contribute to political change and transformation process in the region. "Turkey and Qatar are exerting concerted efforts to contribute to regional and global peace, security and stability in parallel to i ...

A delegation of 100 persons from private sector, chaired by Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) and Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) Chairman Rifat Hisarciklioglu, accompanied President Abdullah Gul during his visit to the Netherlands. During the Turkish-Dutch Business Forum and the CEO roundtable meeting which was organized on sidelines of the forum, the cooperation areas whic ...

The meeting of Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq, and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan today, April 19, might hold key importance regarding the future of the Kurdish problem as a problem involving not only those two countries, but Iran and Syria as well. Barzani is on his way back from the United States where he had a series of talks, topped by one with U.S. Pres ...

With the announcement of the new incentives system, U.S. firms Pepsi, General Electric, 3M, Kimberly-Clark and Quest Diagnostics have all decided to invest in Turkey. VISITING THE WORLD'S TWO LARGEST ECONOMIES After his recent trip to China, Turkey's Minister of Economy Zafer Çağlayan has now begun his schedule of meetings in the United States. Çağlayan met with a number of administrators from leading Ameri ...

In recognition of Turkey's growing diplomatic and economic clout in global affairs, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei paid a four-day visit to Turkey accompanied by a high-level delegation in an effort to further improve bilateral ties, especially in economic relations. In Turkey at the invitation of President Abdullah Gul, Bolkiah met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Istanbul on Saturda ...

Erdoğan's first stop in China will be to Xinjiang, the autonomous province with a high population of Uyghur Turks. Later, the prime minister heads to Beijing followed by Shanghai where he will be signing three agreements on funds, nuclear energy and coal. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan heads to China tomorrow in order to develop further momentum in bilateral relations. Sources from the Prime Ministry q ...

Erdogan hosts UEFA President Platini Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan received UEFA President Michel Platini yesterday, three days before the UEFA is due to hold its annual congress in Istanbul with the participation of 53 chairmen of member federations. Youth and Sports Minister Suat Kilic, Turkish Football Federation President Yildirim Demiroren, as well as UEFA Vice President Senes Erzik also attended ...

A high Dutch administrative court ruled yesterday that Turkish citizens visiting the Netherlands for business purposes cannot be asked to present an entry visa and they can stay in the country without a residence permit for up to three months. The Dutch Council of State rejected an appeal by the Dutch Ministry of Migration and Refugees against an earlier ruling that businesspeople do not need entry visas, g ...

Yemen aspires to learn from Turkey's experiences Yemen's Industry and Trade Minister Saad al-Din Ali Salim bin Talib, who is currently on a visit to Turkey, yesterday said that Turkey was the smiling face of Islamic world. " Any person from Islamic world could see that Islam and modernity were intermingled in Turkey. Turkey and Malaysia are the only two Islamic countries people could experience this feeling ...

Turkey's Steel Exporters' Union (CIB) will visit Pakistan and Bangladesh as target market between March 6 and 12. CIB executive board chairman Namik Ekinci said that a trade delegation from CIB would visit Pakistan and Bangladesh to open new markets for Turkish steel industry. The delegation had visited Chile, Peru and Colombia in October 2011, said Ekinci, adding that the visit increased Turkey's steel exp ...

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to pay a visit to neighboring Iran to discuss the results of an international nuclear security summit set to take place in South Korea in late March, which will focus on Iran's disputed nuclear enrichment program. Erdogan will meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran during the week following the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit on March 26 ...

Thank to its very good image in the international arena and a stable, growing economy and young population quite a few entrepreneurs have decided to start businesses in Turkey, recently. Another good reason to support the idea Turkey is eligible for new investments (and in IT sector in specific) is this country has so many talented young engineers that follow the rapid changes in technology very closely. Am ...

A growing number of tourists visiting Turkey in 2011 chose to stay either with friends or relatives, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), which analyzed the growing trend among foreign tourists to purchase property in Turkey. Of the foreign tourists, 11.1 percent preferred to stay in their own homes in Turkey and 22.7 stayed with relatives or friends, meaning that one out ...

On the sidelines of South Korean President Lee’s visit to Turkey, the two countries may sign a $2 billion deal for a to-be-built coal-burning power, Yonhap news agency says. Similar projects may be on the way, it says South Korea will sign a preliminary pact to build power plants in Turkey in a deal worth about $2 billion, Yonhap News reported, citing an unidentified official at South Korea’s presidential o ...

Paul Auster refuses Turkey visit over jailed scribes Renowned U.S. author Paul Auster said he refused to visit Turkey because of the number of journalists and writers that have been jailed in the country. Speaking to daily Hürriyet’s Buket Şahin, Auster said he had protested the Turkish and Chinese governments for their treatment of journalists. “I refuse to come to Turkey because of imprisoned journalists ...

Turkey-Russian investment bank to be established According to news issued by the Voice of Russia radio station, international and bilateral cooperation issues, as well as establishment of a joint investment bank will be discussed during a visit to be paid by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to Moscow towards the end of this month. Reportedly, establishing a joint investment bank was previously brought forwa ...

Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani will begin an official visit to Turkey late on Wednesday, Turkish diplomatic sources told AFP. Larijani will meet Thursday with Turkish parliament speaker Cemil Çiçek, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and possibly with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül, they said. The talks with Larijani, a former nuclear negotiator, are expected to focus ...

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is set to pay a two-day visit to the Iranian capital of Tehran today. In a statement issued yesterday, Turkish Foreign Ministry said Davutoglu will meet his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Salehi as part of consultations they agreed to hold twice a year. The statement recalled that Davutoglu paid a work visit to Tehran last July and Salehi came to Ankara last October. The two ...

The Gaza Strip's Hamas premier arrived in Turkey on Sunday to meet with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the head of an Islamic aid group whose Gaza-bound vessel was the target of a deadly raid by Israeli troops in 2010. Ismail Haniyeh is on an official tour of the Muslim world, his first trip outside the blockaded territory since the Islamist group overran Gaza in 2007. Turkey's ties with Is ...