President Drnovšek receives Turkish Foreign Minister

Ljubljana, 12/01/2004 | press release

Dr Janez Drnovšek, President of the Republic of Slovenia, today received Abdullah Gül, Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is visiting Slovenia as part of the tour of EU member countries ahead of the December EU summit in Brussels.

Foreign Minister Gül first expressed satisfaction with the talks held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and congratulated Slovenia for the progress achieved since its independence. Dr Drnovšek and Mr Gül assessed the relations between Slovenia and Turkey as positive, friendly and free of any problems. In that context, the Turkish Minister pointed to the fact that there were still many possibilities for economic cooperation between the two countries. Subsequently, Dr Drnovšek and Mr Gül paid much attention to the EU-Turkey relations. Dr Drnovšek emphasised that Slovenia supported Turkey on its path, and commended the progress Turkey has made during recent years. The decision to be taken at the December EU summit will be of vital importance for all Europe, while Turkey will need to continue to invest significant efforts in attaining the goals it has set for itself. Minister Gül expressed his satisfaction with Slovenia's support for Turkey's integration into the European Union, and believed that the decision to start negotiations would send an important message to the Middle East countries and the wider region.

Dr Drnovšek and Mr Gül also talked about the Slovenian chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and underlined the importance of Slovenia and Turkey's cooperation in the resolution of regional issues. At the conclusion of the talks, the Turkish Minister invited President Drnovšek to visit Turkey.