Turkish Prime Minister to make historic visit

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives in New Zealand tomorrow on his own plane accompanied by a delegation of about 200.

He is expected to bring about half a dozen members of his Cabinet, 130 business executives from leading Turkish companies, his own officials and his wife, Emine. With up to 40 journalists also in the party, New Zealand can expect to receive unprecedented exposure in Turkey.

It is the first visit of a Turkish Prime Minister to New Zealand. Mr Erdogan will attend the end of the Monday Cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Helen Clark, which has become a regular feature on the itinerary of visiting senior leaders.

It is also likely to be the first Cabinet meeting attended by Foreign Minister Winston Peters.

Although he is a minister outside the Cabinet, Helen Clark said, there would be some meetings appropriate for him to attend.

She confirmed she had asked Mr Peters to attend the part of the meeting at which Mr Erdogan and his ministers will be present.

Helen Clark invited Mr Erdogan to New Zealand last April when she was in Turkey for the 90th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. The two countries have an emotional link, with Gallipoli having played an important part in their respective nationalistic development.

Mr Erdogan will spend tomorrow in Auckland, Monday in Wellington and Tuesday in Christchurch before flying on to Australia.

Among the Turkish delegation will be experts in earthquake engineering, who will meet New Zealand counterparts.

Mr Erdogan was convicted in 1998 and sentenced to four months in prison for inciting religious hatred. At a public meeting in 1997, Mr Erdogan had read aloud a poem stating: "Mosques are our barracks, domes our helmets, minarets our bayonets, believers our soldiers."

He is a devout Muslim, but Mr Erdogan's party has attempted to steer clear of hardline Islamist stances and controversies.

The trade relationship between New Zealand and Turkey is small: New Zealand exports last year totalled $32 million, mainly wool and sheepskins, and imports $99 million, mainly heavy goods vehicles and passenger vehicles. Meat imports to Turkey face a 235 per cent tariff.


Recep Tayyip Erdogan
* Aged 51, son of a coastguard. Shares his birthday (February 26) with Helen Clark. Educated at an Islamic school.
* Former professional footballer. Forced from a job for refusing to shave off his moustache.
* Former Mayor of Istanbul. Jailed for inciting religious hatred after reading Islamist poem with military images.
* Swept to office promising to end corruption. Proposed, then abandoned, plan to outlaw adultery but cracked down on alcohol-sale licensing.
* Continuing close relations with US and moves to join EU, as well as economic reforms and tax cuts.