WE WILL EXPLAIN TURKEY TO THE EU THROUGH ISTANBUL

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the International "Brand Conference 2012", Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said that as of 1 January 2013 they would explain Turkey to the EU by rendering Istanbul as a brand.

Speaking at the Conference held in Istanbul, Bagis stated that Turkey's accession to the EU would carry the continental peace project to a global level and said that Istanbul would contribute to the EU in many ways and as of 1 January 2013 they would explain Turkey to the EU by rendering Istanbul as a brand and in this process, an introductory film about Istanbul would be broadcast in the EU Member States.

Noting that Istanbul would succeed in breaking down the prejudices in such a way that it held Asia and Europe, Islam and Christianity together, Minister Bagis said that if a country was not a brand it would be very difficult for that country to create a brand .

Pointing out that Istanbul was the "daughter" of Europe and the “bride” of the Middle East, Bagis continued his speech as follows:

"This event continues to be held drawing more attention year by year. In order to love and explain Istanbul, one must share the burden. Today, Istanbul has come at a different point. Istanbul isn’t a city where gas masks are distributed with newspapers, people suffer from water shortage and garbage mountains arise anymore. We have come at a point that we can say ‘Istanbul is European and one of the most famous cities of Europe’ in the EU negotiations. However there are politicians who still don’t want to understand this. There are politicians who want to see the European border at the point where the Danube and Maritza rivers intersect or don’t want to accept the part beyond European side of Istanbul as Europe. Fortunately, the electors send these politicians fishing one by one. All of them have started to take their places they deserve in the waste bin of history. We must bring Istanbul at a very different point and render it a brand. A Europe without Istanbul is like a ship lost its direction and drift off the course and such a ship is doomed to strike ground."

Source: AA