Israeli Foreign Minister Shalom In Ankara

Shalom said Israel and Turkey, both being two democratic countries in the region and having joint values, at the same time face to face with joint difficulties, stating that Turkey and Israel were in close relations in economy, trade, tourism and telecommunication. He said they wanted to further increase current 1.2 billion U.S. dollars trade volume.

Speaking about the Middle East peace process, Shalom said they did their best to enliven negotiations and peace process with the Palestinian side, and that they attributed importance to the reforms which are currently being implemented by Palestine.

Shalom said if Palestine was serious, they could find Israel as a real partner for them.

(AY) 14.04.2003