De Soto will meet with TRNC President Rauf Denktas and Greek-Cypriot Administration leader Glafkos Klerides on October 13th and 27th. De Soto will also hold talks with some political party officials, and is due to leave October 28th. For this reason, Turkey's role in the region is of key importance. Additionaly, security and stability in the Balkans have implications for all of Europe. I want to stress our satisfaction with the level of interest by the Turkish private sector toward the pact.
Turkey is ready and willing to play a stronger role in economic affairs.
Mr. Yilmaz noted that a fund of 2.4 billion euros had been allocated to the region by the pact with 1.8 billion euros earmarked for economic reconstruction and development. The Pact's Special Coordinator Bodo Hombach said Turkey demonstrated great dynamism in the past several years, remarking that the ongoing rapprochement between Turkey and Greece would contribute to stability in the Balkans. Mr. Yilmaz will first meet with Loyola De Palacio, the Deputy Chairman of the EU Commission responsible for transport and energy. He will also meet with European private sector representatives. The final agreements on the Baku-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline, which transfers Azeri petroleum to world markets, will be signed in Ankara today.