27 October 2009 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan watched Turkey’s most highly anticipated soccer game, between archrivals Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, while abroad on official visits on Sunday.
Gül watched the soccer game at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Belgrade, while Erdoğan watched the game at Islamabad Serena Hotel. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız as well as several deputies, journalists and businessmen accompanied Erdoğan while watching the match. The match between the two Turkish soccer teams, which started at midnight in Pakistan due to a four-hour time difference with Turkey, was projected onto a giant screen at the hotel where Erdoğan stayed. Following the match, Gül met with Turkish businessmen and state officials at a closed meeting, which was attended by State Minister Faruk Çelik, Labor and Social Security Minister Ömer Dinçer and Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) Chairman Rona Yırcalı.
