Turkey's EU minister begins formal talks in Netherlands

THE HAGUE (A.A) - 08.04.2011 – Turkey's state minister for the European Union (EU) and chief negotiator began formal talks in the Netherlands on Friday.
Egemen Bagis first met Ben Knapen, Dutch state secretary for European affairs and international cooperation, over a luncheon in The Hague. 
Speaking to reporters, Bagis said he would meet Dutch foreign minister and the president of Senate, as well as executives of think-tank organizations and discuss Turkey's EU membership bid.
Bagis said he would brief Dutch executives on Turkey's contributions to the union.
"I will try to raise number of Turkey's friends in the Netherlands, and eliminate concerns over Turkey's membership, and I hope it would be a fruitful visit," Bagis said.
Bagis said he would come together with Turkish citizens living in the Netherlands, and convey Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's special message to them. 
Minister Bagis will proceed to Amsterdam after meeting Ahmet Uzumcu, the director general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). 
On Saturday, Bagis will attend a breakfast to be hosted by Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD), and speak in a conference on "Turkey-EU relations and the Netherlands."
Bagis will return to Turkey after participating in a meeting of the German Marshall Fund.