Turkey sees Ghana as valuable development partner - Ambassador Bayazit

Turkey sees Ghana as a valuable development partner, the Turkish Ambassador to Ghana, Madam Nesrin Bayazit, told the Daily Graphic in an interview at her office in Accra.  

She said Turkey had hopes of boosting trade volume between her and Ghana from the current $400 million to $1 billion by the year 2020.

“During a presidential visit to Ghana in early March this year, the Turkish President, Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his Ghanaian counterpart, Mr John Dramani Mahama, agreed to boost trade between their countries,” the Ambassador recalled.

For this increase to be reached, she said, it was important that the Free Trade Agreement, the Mutual Promotion and Protection of Investment Agreement and the Agreement on the Prevention of Double Taxation, which were on their agenda, be ensured.

She said Turkey and Ghana had 24 agreements and more were yet to be concluded.   

Currently, Turkish companies are investing in such areas as the manufacturing and services, building and construction, and some projects are in the pipeline while other investments are expected to be made in other areas according to Ambassador Bayazit.

She said works on the third terminal at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) were being carried out by a Turkish company, as part of the government’s efforts in expanding the facility. 

Major water treatment projects, which are totally valued at about $165 million, had been undertaken at Akim-Oda, Akwatia and Winneba.

The Ambassador said Turkey was also interested in supporting Ghana to improve on her infrastructure and human resources. In line with this, she said Turkey had been sending Ghanaians to Turkey to be trained in different fields, adding that Turkey offers a training of the trainers programme. 

Turkey is also contributing towards solving the energy crisis that Ghana is currently facing. 

Textiles

The Ambassador said Turkey had very good quality textiles with beautiful designs and stressed that textile manufacturing is an interesting area for cooperation or to invest in.  

She said she was happy to announce that Turkey has a variety of products which are very attractive and sold at competitive prices, adding that some Ghanaians who engage in ‘luggage trade,’ which involves small scale trade, buy things from Turkey and bring them here to sell.

Ambassador Bayazit encouraged Ghanaian investors /businesses to endeavour to do business in Turkey.

Medical tourism

Touching on the health sector, Madam Bayazit said Turkey had a very good health delivery system, with very good and many medical experts for various specialised fields. 

The ambassador observed that many people travelled to other developed countries which are very far and at very high fares and rates for medical attention and advised those who might require such medical care to travel to Turkey.

She said she was happy to note that Turkey had donated medical equipment worth $100,000 to hospitals in Ghana.

Turkish product trade fair

The Turkish Ambassador announced that a Turkish Export Product Fair would take place in Accra from tomorrow, August 24, to 27, 2016 and invited Ghanaian business firms to participate in the fair.

She said Turkey had organised a lot of fairs and promised businesses that they would be glad to be part of this business opportunity.

 With a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of about $800 billion, Turkey is the 17th largest economy in the world. The country is one of the largest upper middle-income partners of the World Bank Group (WBG). 

She said Turkey is a member of the OECD and the G20, adding that the country assumed the Presidency of the G20 on December 1, 2014. 

The ambassador said it was an increasingly important donor to bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) and said Turkey was very fortunate to have a young and dynamic population. 

National Mosque

The ambassador announced that a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Turkey was coordinating the construction of a mosque in Accra, by raising funds in Turkey.

She said the mosque, which is expected to be an imposing and modern building, would be a gift from Turkey to Ghana.

Coup attempt

The Ambassador recalled the coup attempt of July 15, by a small military junta linked to the Fethullah Gullen Terrorist Organisation (FETO) against the elected Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which ultimately failed.

She said the coup plotters tried to seize major provinces in Turkey, including Istanbul and Ankara, but police forces, a vast majority of the army, the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation and members of the bureaucracy stood against the coup attempt.

The major cities were invaded by putschists as they tried to occupy key state institutions, media outlets and military bases with tanks and warplanes.

The ambassador said she regretted that the western district of Marmaris, where the Turkish President Erdogan was on vacation, was also bombed, in an effort to capture the president.

She observed that FETO, which is a religious congregation, had followers both at home and abroad, adding that it had established hundreds of schools, businesses and media outlets around the world, including Ghana. 

As seen in Turkey, they have sinister plans and ulterior motives, and, likewise in Ghana they also tried to establish and promote their economic interests through NGOs.

The Ambassador urged Ghanaians in the business sector to check whom they have dealings with and be vigilant.

Brain behind the coup

Madam Bayazit emphasised that the fugitive Imam Fethullah Gullen, who lives in self-imposed exile in rural Pennsylvania and runs the FETO terrorist body, is the leader of the coup attempt, which was planned and staged by his followers, although he was quick to deny any responsibility. 

She said information gathered and evidence from the plotters of the coup suggested that Gullen was the brain behind the coup and Turkey demanded that he be extradited to the USA.

In the aftermath of the coup attempt, she said, about 50,000 military and police officers, judges, governors and civil servants, including teachers and deans, had either been arrested or suspended.

In preventing the coup, however, she said the solidarity of the Turkish people from different political stances was phenomenal, adding that leaders and supporters of ruling and opposition parties stood firmly against the coup. “The rally held in Istanbul on August 7, 2016 with the participation of millions of people was a concrete demonstration of this attitude, she added.

 Ambassador Bayazit has, however, assured the whole world that the government of Turkey was taking the necessary steps to address the situation and will not take anything for granted.

Touching on last Saturday’s suicide bomb attack, the ambassador described the act, which was targeted at innocent civilians, women and children going about their peaceful activities, as unfortunate and an attempt to disturb the peace, stability and unity of Turkey.

She called for regional cooperation and asked the international community to condemn the terrorist attack, which she said knows no barriers and which does not respect lives and hated to see people carry out their normal daily activities. 

Appreciation to President Mahama

The ambassador  expressed her appreciation to President Mahama for sending a message of solidarity and condolence to the Turkish President in which he condemned the coup attempt and also expressed solidarity with the elected government of Turkey. 

“This is a valuable support coming from a friendly country,” she noted.

She said Turkey, which received various solidarity messages from friends and allies, declared a state of emergency.

Writer’s email: kate.hudson@graphic.com.gh