President Gul receives PM Ponta of Romania

Turkish President Abdullah Gul received Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta and his accompanying delegation at the Cankaya Presidential Palace on 19 September. Emphasizing the deep and comprehensive cooperation between Turkey and Romania which ranges from the economy, agriculture and the energy sector to transportation, defense industry and cultural issues, Gul stated that both countries had the will to boast the bilateral relations. For his part, PM Ponta stated that he attaches great importance to relations with Turkey and that Romania would continue to actively support Turkey's accession process to the EU. President Gul also attended the inauguration ceremony of the Turkish office of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), an institution where he worked as an analyst for eight years between 1983 and 1991. "We are one of IDB's partners. We are a country that on the one hand funds IDB and on the other hand uses its opportunities. We envisage Istanbul as Turkey's financial center. Not only IDB, but also the World Bank and International Finance Corporation have also opened offices here, as well as other international companies," Gul said.