Cameron, Hague visit Turkey to boost cooperation

British Prime Minister David Cameron, accompanied by Foreign Secretary William Hague, is visiting Turkey today to discuss Turkey's EU membership bid, economic cooperation and strategic partnership.

According to Turkish daily Today's Zaman the leader of the new British coalition government is scheduled to meet with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during his first visit to Turkey.

On the sidelines of the leaders' meeting, Hague is also expected to meet with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who visited the UK two weeks ago at Hague's invitation. The primary agenda item during the British officials' visit is expected to be Turkey's EU membership talks, and top British officials are expected to reaffirm support for Turkey's EU path.

In a July 1 speech proposing a new vision for British foreign policy, Hague stressed Turkey's strategic importance and the significance of the UK engaging with "Europe's biggest emerging economy." To realize this, Turkey and the UK will update an existing strategic partnership by re-signing a strategic cooperation agreement signed in 2007 during the two-day visit.

The new coalition government's special emphasis on Turkey infuriated several Tories, who staunchly oppose Turkey's EU membership, pointing to the dangers of "cheap labor."

The British government is currently caught up in a debate over whether to adopt stricter immigration policies, which will most likely affect roughly 300,000 Turkish immigrants currently residing in the UK. Observers believe Britain's support for Turkey's accession to the EU is not likely to increase the influx of immigrants to the UK as it is not in the Schengen area.