ÇİĞDEM YILMAZ Istanbul – Steinmeier invited names from the business world, journalists, politicians and sports world at the historical summer residence of the German Embassy in Tarabya.
At the event, Turkey’s famous ney player and musician Burcu Karadağ also gave a ney concert for Steinmeier. Karadağ went to Steinmeier after the concert and asked for the visa problem he was experiencing to be resolved.
‘Would SUCH A THING BE TOLD TO THE PRESIDENT OF GERMANY?’ I THOUGHT
Speaking to Milliyet, Karadağ described his dialogue with Steinmeier as follows: “When I received such an invitation, the first thing that came to my mind was the visa issue… Can I go directly to the President of Germany and say such a thing? I thought about it, but I said ‘I’ll tell you’ again. When the concert was over, I approached the German President while he was frying sausages and told him about the problems business people and artists had in obtaining visas.
‘SOLVE THIS ISSUE’
Upon what I told him, he said to his colleagues next to him, ‘Solve this issue.’ It may seem funny from the outside, but I directly asked the interlocutor for a solution to the visa problem. Later, the German Consul General listened to our problems in detail. In the past, when we applied for a visa, we would get a 3 or 5-year visa, but now they give it for a week or a month. Artists and business people also come and go all the time. It is a big hassle to go through all the visa procedures again and again. You also pay visa fees each time. Sometimes you get rejected and you don’t get the money you paid back. This is not a personal problem of mine, it is a general problem. I explained this in detail. I hope it will be resolved for everyone as soon as possible.”
