Turkish Anadolu Agency
October 29

Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Tuesday that Turkish military presence in north of Iraq would continue as long as the terrorism threat continued.

Gul and Uzbek Foreign Minister Sodiq Safayev held a joint press conference after the meetings between Turkish and Uzbek delegations.

When he was recalled about comments that Turkey`s presence in north of Iraq could be withdrawn, Gul said that it was out of question.

Gul said, ``after the terrorism threat ends, of course, the reason for our presence in the lands of other countries will end. But, our forces will be there as long as terrorism threat continues.``

Drawing attention that Safayev paid his first official visit to Turkey, Gul said that bilateral relations between Turkey and Uzbekistan had a strong base.

Gul noted that they took up cooperation in security and commercial and military relations in their meeting and worked on preparations for the visit that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan would pay to Uzbekistan in December.

Foreign Minister Gul said that Safayev invited him to Uzbekistan.

Turkish and Uzbek businessmen could cooperate not only in Uzbekistan but also Afghanistan and Central Asia, Gul stated.

Gul pointed out that Turkey was an Eurasian country while Uzbekistan was a Central Asian country.

Noting that security of Eurasia depended on security of Central Asia, Gul said that therefore, they attached importance to concerted efforts.

Gul recalled that President Ahmet Necdet Sezer had invited Uzbek President Islam Karimov to Turkey and hoped that the visit could be paid in the coming year.

Safayev said that his visit was very fruitful and successful and that political dialogue between Turkey and Uzbekistan would be very beneficial to two nations.

Prime Minister Erdogan`s visit to Uzbekistan would open a new page in bilateral relations, Safayev stressed.

When a reporter recalled that some problems occurred between the two countries in the past due to Turkish schools in Uzbekistan, Gul said that there was cooperation between the two countries and it was preference of Uzbekistan whether or not to give necessary permission.

Uzbek Foreign Ministry Safayev, replying to the same question, said that Turkey had recorded success in education and although there were some minor problems in some issues, they would not obstruct general cooperation opportunities.

Safayev added that they also took up cooperation opportunities in education in their meeting.

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