14 November 2009 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, ANKARA
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is scheduled to commence an official three-day visit to Spain today at the invitation of his Spanish counterpart, Miguel Angel Moratinos, the Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.
Davutoğlu, who has already declared that November will be “the month of Europe,” visited France earlier this month. Spain will take over the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union from Sweden as of January. Davutoğlu and Moratinos will hold bilateral talks on Sunday in Cordoba, with discussions focusing on Turkey’s EU membership process. The Cyprus issue is expected to be another major item on agenda of the talks as an EU summit in December will review Turkey’s refusal to open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot traffic in line with its decision in 2006. The Middle East peace process is, meanwhile, an issue of interest for both Davutoğlu and Moratinos. On Monday Davutoğlu will deliver a speech titled “Turkey and Spain, Two Sides of Mediterranean: Joint Contributions to Global Peace and Security” at a breakfast meeting to be held at the Madrid-based Nueva Economía Fórum. Members of the media, opinion leaders, business leaders and diplomats are expected to attend the meeting at Spain’s leading debating organization. While in Spain, Davutoğlu will also officially inaugurate Turkey’s consulate general in Barcelona, which is already in operation.
