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Anadolu Agency, Turkey
May 26 2013
Turkish minister views cooperation with Islamic body, EU
JEDDA (AA) - 24.05.2013 - Turkey's European Union Minister and Chief
Negotiator Egemen Bagis said Turkey would keep on supporting the
Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), expressing his countyr's
appreciation for the support Arab nations extended for Turkey's EU
accession.
Speaking at a press conference in Jedda on the first day of his visit
in the Saudi Arabian city Bagis said, "EU should never underestimate
Turkey. It needs Turkey more than Turkey needs EU."
The Turkish minister pays a visit in Jedda upon the invitation by the
President of the Organization for Islamic Coopeation (OIC) Ekmelettin
Ihsanoglu.
Bagis said all Turkish citizens benefited from Turkey's EU accession
process, citing the landmark reopening of an Orthodox Christian church
on the Akdamar island of Lake Van in eastern Turkey, where hundreds
Armenians conducted in September 2010 a religious service for the
first time in 112 years.
Rejecting any 'axis shift' in Turkey's foreign policy, Bagis said,
"Turkey is a bridge between the West and the East, the North and the
South. Forcing it to make a choice is the biggest injustice."
Following the press conference, Bagis, accompanied by Turkey's
ambassador to Saudi Arabia, visited Ihsanoglu in his office.
During the meeting they discussed Turkey's relations with the OIC and the EU.
Reminding that 10 per cent of the EU population is composed of
Muslims, Bagis said, "Islam is a fact of Europe. It is a positive
development that the EU countries started to acknowledge this fact,
albeit a bit late."
Bagis will attend on Saturday at the Jedda Chamber of Commerce a
conference on "Potential Economic and Commercial Impacts of Turkey's
EU Membership on the Middle East and Islamic Countries."
May 26 2013
Turkish minister views cooperation with Islamic body, EU
JEDDA (AA) - 24.05.2013 - Turkey's European Union Minister and Chief
Negotiator Egemen Bagis said Turkey would keep on supporting the
Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), expressing his countyr's
appreciation for the support Arab nations extended for Turkey's EU
accession.
Speaking at a press conference in Jedda on the first day of his visit
in the Saudi Arabian city Bagis said, "EU should never underestimate
Turkey. It needs Turkey more than Turkey needs EU."
The Turkish minister pays a visit in Jedda upon the invitation by the
President of the Organization for Islamic Coopeation (OIC) Ekmelettin
Ihsanoglu.
Bagis said all Turkish citizens benefited from Turkey's EU accession
process, citing the landmark reopening of an Orthodox Christian church
on the Akdamar island of Lake Van in eastern Turkey, where hundreds
Armenians conducted in September 2010 a religious service for the
first time in 112 years.
Rejecting any 'axis shift' in Turkey's foreign policy, Bagis said,
"Turkey is a bridge between the West and the East, the North and the
South. Forcing it to make a choice is the biggest injustice."
Following the press conference, Bagis, accompanied by Turkey's
ambassador to Saudi Arabia, visited Ihsanoglu in his office.
During the meeting they discussed Turkey's relations with the OIC and the EU.
Reminding that 10 per cent of the EU population is composed of
Muslims, Bagis said, "Islam is a fact of Europe. It is a positive
development that the EU countries started to acknowledge this fact,
albeit a bit late."
Bagis will attend on Saturday at the Jedda Chamber of Commerce a
conference on "Potential Economic and Commercial Impacts of Turkey's
EU Membership on the Middle East and Islamic Countries."