PORTUGUESE PM’S SUPPORT FOR TURKEY’S EU BID

Asked about the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TSK) stance on the nation’s EU bid, Erdogan said that the TSK was not opposed to Turkey’s EU membership and that the government and the TSK were in agreement on the recently passed sixth EU harmonization package. Later meeting with Portuguese businessmen, Erdogan said that there was a great potential for economic cooperation between the two nations, but that they had yet to fully develop it. “We need to strive to advance economic ties between our countries,” urged Erdogan. “Our bilateral trade up to now has been rather limited due mostly to distance, but this obstacle is surmountable.” In related news, Turkey and Portugal signed a mutual employment agreement allowing the family members of diplomats and diplomatic administrative and technical personnel plus international organizations’ representations to take jobs to earn money. Turkey has signed similar such agreements with the United States, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Poland.