The sixth round of AK Party Foreign Affairs Department's Foreign Policy Regional Education Seminars was realized in Istanbul on the 22nd of March 2008. The seminar was chaired by Mr. Egemen Bagis, AK Party Vice Chairman in charge of Foreign Affairs to which Mr. Murat Mercan, Turkish Grand National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Chairman and MP representing Eskisehir, Mr. Mevlut Cavusoglu, AK Party Department of Foreign Affairs coordinator Vice Chairman and MP representing Antalya, AK Party MPs representing Istanbul and AK Party Istanbul Chairman Aziz Babuscu as well as many party supporters attended.
AK Party Vice Chairman in charge of Foreign Affairs Mr. Egemen Bagis talked about the initiatives that AK Party government has realized on Turkish foreign policy and the recent events.
Mr. Bagis also said that they want to make AK Party a party which is known world wide and to achieve this result we have to educate our grassroots organizations.
CENTRAL BANK RESERVES
Mr. Bagis said Turkey's debt to IMF was 24 billion dollars when AK Party took on the government at 2002 and today it is 72 billion dollars. The reserve of the Central Bank of Turkey is 70 billion dollars. "We are determined to put Turkey's budget in financial discipline."
BEING TURKISH COFFEE IN ENERGY Mr. Egemen Bagis said they want to be Turkish coffee in energy business. He continued "The bans are not new. We had some bans in our history. Once coffee was forbidden. Until we went to Yemen we didn't know about coffee. We went there, took it and brought it here. Now the world knows about Turkish coffee. Although Turkey is not an energy rich country, it has become an energy corridor during AK Party governance, so our aim is to make Turkey a renowned country for Energy."
TURKEY'S EU MEMBERSHIP
Bagis reminded that AK Party is the one who started the negotiation process with the European Union. He continued "There is no country that started the negotiations that couldn't end it. Turkey will also end it sooner or later. On that day Turkey will be a different country. I see EU as Turkey's dietician. 27 countries have become more prosperous and peaceful with the prescriptions of EU."
THE ATTITUDE OF THE OPPOSITION
Bagis also told his opinion about the current situation and criticized the main opposition party's leader Deniz Baykal's attitude towards AK Party closure case.
Bagis said "If there is a party in Turkey that is on trial, that is the CHP, the mentality of CHP. It has been prosecuted in the hearts of Turkish people and it has been sentenced for life time opposition. AK Party is working. Mr. Baykal has difficulties to recognize these but he has to be proud that Turkey has become a country that is a co-chair of the Project of Alliance of Civilizations, a country that is asked for advice for the problems of Middle East, a country that is asked to help in all international crises. But they still need time to understand all of these."
Mr. Murat Mercan, Turkish Grand National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Chairman and MP representing Eskisehir and Mr. Mevlut Cavusoglu, AK Party Department of Foreign Affairs coordinator Vice Chairman and MP representing Antalya talked about the Middle East Conflict, Cyprus policies and real estate sales to foreigners.
