US embassy cable - 04ANKARA1151

UNCLAS ANKARA 001151 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, KHIV, PREL, SENV, SOCI, TU 
SUBJECT: TURKEY:  DEMARCHE ON PRESIDENT'S EMERGENCY PLAN 
FOR AIDS RELIEF 
 
REF: STATE 38300 
 
 
1.  (U) Regional Environment Officer briefed Health Ministry 
officials on the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, 
per instructions reftel.  Kamuran Ozden, Head of the 
Ministry's External Relations Department, was pleased to 
receive the information, adding that he agreed with the U.S. 
global strategy, since AIDS does not respect borders.  Ozden 
asked if the U.S. had identified the 100 countries under the 
USD 5 billion portion of the strategy and offered that Turkey 
was eager to cooperate with the U.S. 
 
 
2.  (U) Ozden said that Turkey continues to be fortunate that 
the incidence of AIDS in Turkey remains quite low.  However, 
the government realizes that Turkey is a crossroads for 
legitimate and illegitimate migration and trade and therefore 
is at risk from the growing AIDS epidemic in neighboring 
countries.  "If it shows up in Moscow, it will eventually 
show up in Istanbul," he said. 
 
 
3.  (U) Ozden said Turkey had a bad experience with the 
Global Fund, which rejected a number of Turkish proposals and 
did not take into account the national characteristics of 
Turkey. 
EDELMAN