Day: December 1, 2021

“Relations between and Turkey and Italy are excellent, both in political and economic level,” Massimo Gaiani said in webinar organized by the Jean Monnet Chair at Istanbul 29 Mayis University on Tuesday, adding that Turkey is an important partner not only for his country but also for the European Union.

He consequently drew attention to the high-level communication between senior Italian and Turkish officials of various state institutions.

Regarding Turkish-EU relations, Gaiani said Turkey’s membership to the union, fervently and continuously supported by Italy, would be mutually beneficial for both the parties.

This is so even when Italy, Turkey and the EU disagree on many things, he said, adding that Turkey is a crucial actor in the struggle against crime, irregular migration, terrorism and many other regional problems.

Asked by Anadolu Agency about the recent Italian-French rapprochement and its possible effect on Italian-Turkish relations considering France’s warm relations with Greece, Gaiani said Turkey’s relations with France and the EU would benefit from this.

“We will make the case of Turkey to our French friends,” he said.

Gaiani reiterated that Italy attributes significant importance to Turkey and has shown this on various occasions.

He specifically mentioned the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), of which Italy is a member, and pointed out that his country blocked some elements of the forum, which could be perceived as anti-Turkish.

The EMGF is an international organization founded by Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Greece, Italy, Israel and the Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus.

The EastMed project is a 1,900-kilometer (1,180-mile) undersea natural gas pipeline extending from Israel to Greece and then on to Italy.

Critics say it will not be possible to fill the pipeline with the current known gas reserves off Israel’s Eastern Mediterranean coast, and even if Egypt is added to the project, the project’s feasibility banks on potential discoveries of reserves in the region.

Remarking that Turkey and Italy are important partners to each other and Italy is one of the most prominent foreign investors in Turkey, Gaiani also praised the bilateral economic ties.

“Trade flow between the two countries is balanced and growing more sophisticated day by day,” he said.

Gaiani, however, warned that Turkish companies should accelerate their preparations for the transformation to green economy, considering the importance of the EU market, the biggest for Turkish exporters.

He said many Italian companies want to exit from the Far East due to the cost, logistics, and management problems and consider diverting their investments to Turkey with a well-educated labor force, a big market, and advanced infrastructure.

Source: Anadolu Agency

US diplomats who have been working in Moscow for more than three years have to leave the country by Jan. 31, Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday.

The step is the next move in an ongoing diplomatic row between Russia and the US, a row started by Washington, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news conference in Moscow.

For some time the US has been creating difficulties for Russian diplomats assigned to the US by denying them visas and setting limitations on their movements inside the US, she said.

Russia sees the expulsion as tit-for-tat for the US forcing 27 Russian diplomatic staffers to leave the country by the end of January, she said.

“We consider the American demand as nothing but expulsion and intend to respond accordingly. By Jan. 31, 2022, employees of the US Embassy in Moscow who have been on a mission for more than three years must leave Russia,” she said.

Moscow has been putting off the move for a long time in the hope Washington will reconsider its decision, she added.

“I stress that this choice is not ours. The American partners imposed this game on us,” she said.

“We have persistently tried to reason with them for a long time and to redirect them to some constructive solution to the issue, but they’ve made their choice.”

Russia has called the US actions “an undisguised encroachment on the sovereign right of a state that sends its representatives, diplomats and determines the terms of its stay in the host country itself … according to the laws and rules written by the host party,” she stressed.

Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov last week said that 27 Russian diplomats would be forced to leave the US by Jan. 30 due to visa problems with their families, and 30 more by the end of next June.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Foreign businesses see Turkey as the most important country in addressing global supply chain issues, with its large production capacity and high manufacturing standards.

While several countries had disruptions due to problems related to the pandemic measures including lockdowns and travel bans, Turkey proved its strong industrial infrastructure that continued its activities even during the most difficult days of the pandemic.

With supply problems, especially stemming from China, countries, particularly those in Europe, aim to cooperate with closer suppliers instead of countries offering only low-cost production.

On the other hand, due to increasing transportation costs, Far Eastern countries have been losing their position in the global supply chains.

Foreign buyers see Turkey as the most important alternative supplier, which offers faster delivery and high quality with affordable prices and stability in orders.

At the International Brand and Manufacturer Meeting organized by the Turkish Houseware Association in Turkey’s Mediterranean resort city Antalya last week, foreign buyers showed great interest in Turkish products.

According to the association figures, agreements worth $150 million were signed at the two-day event, which also created business networks that can generate $1 billion in business volume in 2022.

Higher transportation prices opportunity for Turkey

Shazada Ahmed, the CEO of the UK-based wholesaler Clearance King, said Turkey, strategically located at the center of the world, serves as a bridge between Asia and Europe.

Especially for UK-based businesses, Turkey is closer than other alternatives, including China, and the country has rich quality in production, Ahmed told Anadolu Agency.

Turkey can easily compete with China in supply chains and end Chinese dominance, he added.

He also noted that the event was very attractive and business people from all around the world reached agreements with Turkish suppliers.

Thrushar Kheita, the founder of Kenya’s major supplier Kheita Drapers Group, said even China offers cheaper prices, several countries will choose Turkish products thanks to their high quality.

People cannot compare Turkish products with Chinese goods, “Chinese prices are cheap, but you also know that the quality is cheap.”

On increasing transportation fees, he said rising transportation prices is a big opportunity for Turkey.

“Turkey is very close and numerous Turkish companies are already active in Africa, several Africa business people look for strategic partnership deals with Turkish enterprises,” he underlined.

The Turkish manufacturers should come to Kenya and Africa for meeting other businesses, Africa is the growing continent, Brazil, Russia, China are already active in the continent, he said.

He also said that there is a big opportunity for Turkey but the country has a language, adding that only a few people can speak English fluently.

Investors to turn to Turkey

Aibek Adambekov, the commercial director of Kazakhstan’s Cash and Carry company Magnum’s Uzbekistan branch, said Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan mostly import goods from China and Russia but there is currently a quality issue.

“Turkish manufacturers have very good quality, and hopefully, the matter of logistics will be fixed, and we will be able to bring Turkish products into our market because our people have similar approaches in their food preferences,” he stressed.

He added: “Even if they demand higher costs, we want to choose quality, Turkish products have this quality.”

Adambekov also said he hopes that one day Turkey will become one of the biggest suppliers of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan markets.

Omer Albayrak, the owner of the German supplier Alim Home, said the price gap between China and Turkey is closing, while German companies are turning to Turkey and aiming to make agreements with Turkish companies.

Turkey is also valuable for big chains’ investments thanks to its young population, and if the country provides currency stability it will attract more investments, Albayrak stressed.

Rauf Rafiyev, an Azerbaijani wholesaler, noted: “Our purchases from China are decreasing due to logistics prices, this is an advantage for Turkey.”

Many Azerbaijani companies buy from Turkey, even if the prices are the same as the alternatives, everyone prefers Turkey, he said.

Purchasing delegations come from all over the world to Turkey, from the Equator to Argentina, from the US to European countries, he underlined and added: “With the increase in the number of production companies and the development of the investment ecosystem, foreign investors will also turn to Turkey.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Local municipality officials in Belgium’s capital Brussels removed the tents of migrants waiting to be admitted into the city’s asylum center in the city.

Municipal officials dismantled tents set up outside of the Petit Chateau, the headquarters of Fedasil, the Federal Agency for the reception of asylum seekers in the city, which hosts major EU institutions.

Not allowed inside the building, the migrants had erected the tents to spend the night at the site amid their long wait to file asylum applications.

The officials descended on the tents in the early hours of the morning as migrants continued to wait under the rain, gathering their personal belongings.

On Oct. 18, the director of the Fedasil, Isabelle Plumat, told reporters that the center was nearly full and had been “on alert” in recent months. There was a one-day strike at the center due to overcrowding on the same day.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The World Health Organization chief on Wednesday hailed a decision by the WHO’s highest governing body on Wednesday to take a step closer to negotiating a treaty on pandemic preparedness, an action he has long advocated.

“I welcome the decision you have adopted today to establish an intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) to draft and negotiate a WHO convention agreement or other international instruments on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus.

The agreement could be made binding if it is adopted under Article 19, or it could be adopted under other provisions of the WTO constitution, “as may be deemed appropriate by the intergovernmental negotiating body.”

Tedros spoke after the World Health Assembly ended a “historic” three-day special hybrid session of the governing body.

“I welcome your commitment to an inclusive, transparent, and efficient process led by member states,” said the WHO chief.

“I welcome your commitment to hold the first meeting of the INB no later than the first of March 2022 and to submit its outcome for consideration to the World Health Assembly in 2024.”

Tedros said the decision “is cause for celebration and a call for the hope that we all need.”

He said that many differences in the type of pandemic treaty still have to be overcome to find common ground among the 194 WHO member states.

As the world marks World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, the WHO chief said the global AIDS epidemic has claimed more than 36 million lives in over 40 years, and there is still no vaccine and no cure for the disease.

“Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, we have not one, but many vaccines, and many other effective tools,” said Tedros, but “this virus has demonstrated that it will not simply disappear.”

He said that ending the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed at least 5.2 million lives “is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.”

The WHO chief called on all member states to vaccinate 40% of the population of every country by the end of this year and 70% by the middle of next year.

Source: Anadolu Agency