Breaking news… President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, FrankWalter Steinmeier, with an official ceremony in Ankara. Erdogan makes important statements at the joint press conference with the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Erdoğan said, “We aim to increase our bilateral trade volume, which has reached 50 billion dollars, to 60 billion dollars in a balanced manner.” said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a Joint Press Conference with the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, FrankWalter Steinmeier.
Highlights from Erdoğan’s statements:
Mr. Steinmeier, who knows Turkey and the Turks closely, visited our country many times during his tenure as Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, today’s visit was also a valuable visit as it was his first visit to our country as the president and it corresponded to the 100th anniversary of the friendship agreement between Turkey and Germany. I believe that the Turkish-German friendship, which has always been strengthened through human ties, will continue to grow stronger. I am also pleased to see that my dear friend Steinmeier agrees with us on advancing our relations. On this occasion, I would like to thank Germany and the German people again for the solidarity they showed with our nation during the February 6 earthquakes.
We were also particularly touched by the esteemed president’s visit to Gaziantep, our primary school built with the contribution of Germany, and our Nurdağı container city. In our meetings today, we had the opportunity to discuss the multidimensional relations between our countries bilaterally. We have intense relations with our NATO ally Germany in every field from security to economy, from culture to science. We aim to increase our bilateral trade volume, which is 50 billion dollars, to 60 billion dollars in a balanced manner. In this regard, I attach special importance to increasing mutual investments. We wish to further our cooperation in the field of defense industry in line with our bilateral relations and the spirit of alliance. I want us to completely remove the restrictions we face in the defense industry from our agenda. We hope that Türkiye and Germany will talk about joint production projects from now on, not about obstacles, especially in the field of defense. Our cooperation in the field of tourism is developing day by day. In 2023, we hosted more than 6 million tourists from Germany in our country. I believe that we will raise this figure even higher.
The most exceptional common denominator and supporting pillar of our bilateral relations with Germany are our strong human ties. The number of people we sent off from Sirkeci Train Station 63 years ago reached 3.5 million. During the 63-year period, the Turkish community left expatriation and began to assume critical roles in the social, economic, cultural and academic life of Germany. The valuable representatives in the President’s delegation are an example of this. We witness the significant achievements of our citizens in every field, from culture to art, from politics to science and commerce. We are proud of all our citizens who break conventional stereotypes, break prejudices, overcome the obstacles one by one and serve as a human bridge between Turkey and Germany.
German President Steinmeir said:
We do not have such friendly relations with any country in the world. The stories of Turks in Germany shape our country.
I stated that the reconstruction efforts in the earthquake area were admirable.
I wish our 100-year-long relations to be more successful and future-oriented.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, FrankWalter Steinmeier, with an official ceremony in Ankara.
According to the statement made by the Presidential Directorate of Communications, President Erdoğan hosted Steinmeier, who paid an official visit to Turkey upon his invitation, at the Presidential Complex today.
Erdoğan welcomed Steinmeier at the main entrance of the complex. After Erdoğan and Steinmeier took their places in the ceremony area, the national anthems of the two countries were played. German President Steinmeier greeted the Guard Regiment Ceremonial Guard by saying “Hello, soldier.” Flags and soldiers representing the 16 Turkish states established in history were also present at the ceremony.
Erdoğan and Steinmeier shook hands in front of the Turkish and German flags on the stairs and posed for journalists.
At the ceremony, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, Presidential Administrative Affairs Director Metin Kıratlı, Defense Industry President Haluk Görgün, Presidential Security and Foreign Policy Chief Advisor Akif Çağatay Kılıç. Ankara Governor Vasip Şahin also took part.
