BLED
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that Turkey's EU accession process has slowed down as some EU countries assumed racist, discriminatory and populist attitude.
Prime Minister Erdogan received "the Statesmen of the Decade Award" from International Middle East and Balkans Studies Institute (IFIMES) in a ceremony in Bled town of Slovenia.
Delivering a speech in the ceremony, Erdogan said that Turkey fulfilled its responsibilities during its EU accession process, stating that Turkey was the not party that slowed down the process, but some EU countries.
Erdogan said however Turkey still had a great determination for continuation of the process and supported friendly Balkan countries' integration process in the EU.
In regard to Turkish economy, Erdogan said that in 2002 Turkey's exports had been 36 billion U.S. dollars and today the figure reached 135 billion U.S. dollars.
The number of tourists visiting Turkey exceeded 31 million in the recent period, he said and added that the country's tourism incomes rose to 23 billion U.S. dollars from 8.5 billion USD.
Turkey had a sound economy which grew 8.5 percent even in the global economic crisis, the premier said.
Erdogan said that Turkey always backed peace, stability and prosperity in its region.
PM Erdogan said Balkans would have an important place in the world as a region of peace and tranquility.
(Reporting by Adem Kadam)
