The Turkish president said on Friday that integration to the European Union (EU) and Europe was the main tendency and strategy of Turkey's foreign policy.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul said that there had not been any slight deviation from that target for over half a century.

"It is a fact that we have made rapid progress on road to EU full membership in recent days," Gul said during a dinner of the Institut du Bosphore.

Gul said Turkey was interested more in some countries, taking advantage of its history.
"These advantages and other countries with which Turkey have relationship will be a richness for the EU if Turkey becomes a full member," Gul said.
Gul said nobody should make evaluations that Turkey was shifting towards a different world.

The seminar of Institut du Bosphore on "Turkey and the World: New Players, New Visions" is taking place at Istanbul's Swissotel on 11 and 12 June.

A think tank with a notable French-Turkish Scientific Committee, Institut du Bosphore was created in 2009 as a Turkish Industrialists' & Businessmen's Association (TUSIAD) initiative. In a context which Turkey plays a key role in global balances, Institut du Bosphore intends to be one of the active drivers of innovative debate over the relations between Turkey and the EU in general and France in particular.

Conceived as a space for permanent, free and objective debate Institut du Bosphore deals with geopolitical, economic, societal and cultural issues to facilitate the common reflection of French and Turkish people on Europe and the actual world.

Directed by an Executive Committee chaired by Haluk Tukel, Institut du Bosphore is an independent organization, bringing together high-level Turkish and French personalities from diverse backgrounds -politicians, enterpreneurs, economists, experts and intellectuals.
 

AA