In farewell speech, Turkish ambassador praises ties, thanks Bahrainis

Manama, Oct. 30 (BNA): Turkish Ambassador Hatun Demirer has praised her country's excellent ties with Bahrain and the shared political will to boost them further. In a speech during the embassy's reception marking Turkey's Republic Day on Sunday evening, Demirer stressed the significance of the close ties. "I take this opportunity to present my sincere thanks to His Majesty the King, His Royal Highness the Prime Minister and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, alongside with Ministers, Ambassadors, distinguished members of the business world and many other friends of Turkey for their kind messages of greetings on our national day," she said, adding that "Turkey enjoys excellent relations with Bahrain and there exist mutual political will to boost relations further." "The visit of His Majesty the King to Turkey in August 2016 and the visit of our President to Bahrain last February were concrete reflections of this mutual political will. Around 10 new agreements were signed during these visits, bringing new dynamism to our relations," she said. The ambassador said that the speech would be her last as she would be leaving the kingdom before the end of the year after four years spent as her country's head of mission in Manama. "During the past four years, besides the two state visits between the leaders of our countries, we had mutual visits of Speakers of our Parliament, visits of different Ministers from both countries and many technical delegations in different fields," she said. "We had convened the second round of political consultations, the 6th round of the Turkey–Bahrain Joint Economic Commission and two meetings of Turkish-Bahraini Business Council. Our commercial and economic relations continue to develop faster than ever and reciprocal investments in Turkey and Bahrain are on rise. We are proud that some well-known Turkish companies like TAV and GAMA are currently engaged in enlargement of Bahrain Airport and ALBA. 'Orta Anadolu Textile' which is the biggest Turkish investment in Bahrain has tripled its facilities and continues to directly contribute to the economy of Bahrain." She added that a Turkish cultural centre would be opened at the University of Bahrain. "One mutual achievement in our bilateral relations that deserves to be mentioned is also the soon opening of 'Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Centre' at University of Bahrain for teaching Turkish language, which I believe will open new doors to Bahraini students," she said. "This was a pet project for me during my tenure and I am happy to see it being on the way of realization, according to the Turkish ambassador. Another positive development in our recent relations was the removal of visa fees mutually which further encouraged tourism between the two countries. This year so far, close to 45,000 Bahrainis have visited Turkey. We are happy that Turkey has become a common tourism destination for Bahrainis." Demirer said that Turkey attaches great importance to peace, stability and security in the region. "Most unfortunately the on-going turbulence in our region continues to cause pain and produce immense humanitarian tragedy. In that sense, I am proud of our nation’s compassion towards those who are in need of help due to different reasons. According to the latest Global Humanitarian Assistance Report, Turkey has become the second largest contributor in humanitarian assistance following the US. Having said that the number of Syrians we’re currently hosting has reached 3.2 million. Our fight against all kinds of terror groups will continue with determination and without making any differentiation among them, as we have zero tolerance for terrorism. Related to security issues, I should also have a few words about the Combined Maritime Forces based in Bahrain, activities of which my country supports. During the last four years Turkey has assumed two times the command of CTF-151 counter piracy task force and will soon hand over it to Bahrain." Denirer thanked Bahrain and Bahrainis for their gracious hospitality throughout her tenure. "When I first arrived in Bahrain almost four years ago, I was struck by the positive energy of this country and Bahraini people. I met wonderful people and have made so many friends. You let me be your friends and opened your houses to me with immense generosity and hospitality. Thank you for being a big family for me and my colleagues at the embassy," she said.