Turkey vows cooperation with GCC to foster peace

Manama: Turkey is not working on playing a special role in the Gulf through military alliances, but is willing to boost collaboration with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries for the sake of regional peace and stability, a Turkish senior official has said.

Turkey "is not seeking to get involved in a policy of axes, but if the Gulf side wishes to have closer ties in the military field, Ankara is ready to meet such a desire for [the] sake of the security and stability of the region," Ershad Hermezli, political adviser of the Turkish president, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) ahead of an official visit by Abdullah Gul to Kuwait today.

The adviser said that Turkey was ready, within the Turkish-Kuwaiti military cooperation, to supply Kuwait with armament and to train military personnel, noting that the types of weapons used in the two countries are identical.

Ankara had repeatedly expressed support for the GCC states for safeguarding their security and stability, he said, stressing that this attitude had been affirmed by past visits to the region by the prime minister and other senior leaders.

However, Gul's visit, his first as president of Turkey, will primarily focus on economic issues, Hermezli said.

Delegation

According to Turkish media, Gul will be accompanied on the two-day state visit to Kuwait on December 21 and 22 by State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, deputies and businessmen.

After attending the Turkey-Kuwait Business Forum, Gul will join ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of Kuwaiti Oil Company. Turkey is confident that a "new momentum in bilateral ties is expected to be gained during the visit which will be centred on boosting cooperation in every area including economic and commercial relations between the two countries".

"The visit is of paramount significance because the president will be in a brotherly country, a country that plays a key role within the GCC, the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC)," Hermezli said.

Kuwait is currently the chair of the GCC following the holding of the 30th summit last week in Kuwait City, a leading position it will hold until December 2010. Although ties between Ankara and Kuwait have been robust and deep-rooted, commercial exchanges are still below the ambitions of both countries, Hermezli said, but added that ongoing consultations between the two leaders and mutual interests between Kuwaiti and Turkish businesspeople would enhance bilateral relations in general.

Hermezli attributed Turkey's approach to broadening its economic and commercial ties with Kuwait to the northern emirate's distinguished status within the GCC and to having the alliance's third largest economy in terms of volume and activity.

"Kuwait has huge potentials in investments and energy and Turkish companies can play a role in exploiting these resources in projects." Hermezli said. "Turkish companies are well known internationally for possessing substantial experience."

Hermezli said that Turkey's desire to reach a free trade accord with GCC states "as a single bloc", would help in facilitating the flow of capital and cross-border movement of businessmen.

On Ankara's plan to build a railway linking Turkey with the Gulf, the adviser said that the venture would enhance international status of the Gulf states, According to Hermezli, the Gulf will "very possibly" play a role in the Nabucco gas pipeline project after Iraq expressed interest in joining it and Qatar mulled exporting gas to Europe through the pipeline.

The 3,300km long pipe is designed to take natural gas to Europe from Azerbaijan and potentially Turkmenistan, Iraq or even Iran at a later stage. The long-delayed project aims, among other things. at reducing Europe's gas reliance on Russia.