A Milestone in Yemeni-Turkish Relations [Archives:2000/37/Local News]

Yemeni-Turkish Relations
Last week witnessed one of the most significant events towards strengthening the Yemeni-Turkish relationship. A Yemeni high ranking official visit to Turkey was successfully concluded last week during 5-7 September. The Yemeni delegation was headed by Minister of Supplies and Trade, Mr. Abdulaziz al-Kumaim and including Deputy Planning Minister for International Cooperation, Mr. Hisham Sharaf, Qadhi Aburrijal, and Mohammed Abdulaziz Ghaleb plus 9 businessmen and a number of intellectuals and politicians.
The delegation met with Mr. Receb Unal and ministers of Education, Energy, Foreign Trade, National Archive, and Health. The delegation also met with the Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.
The two sides signed several agreements in the Turkish-Yemeni joint economic commission (JEC) meeting to be held here for the first time between the two countries since Yemens unification.
These agreements involve cooperation in health sector, prevention of double taxation, cooperation of the news agencies of the two countries, and economic and technical cooperation, said Mr. Mirzaoglu.
The agreements focused on the fields of tourism, culture, industry, investment, highway transportation, cooperation between chambers of commerce, vocational training, health, and media. The media is also considered to be the beginning of what can be called a reviving of the Yemeni-Turkish relationship as the Turkish government is expected to invest in Yemen in many fields including electricity, gas, and other areas. There are currently plans to launch projects to preserve and enhance historical sites belonging to the Ottoman era in Yemen. Among those plans is the protection and renovation of the famous Military Ottoman Hospital in Sanaa.
On the economic side, the Yemeni and Turkish sides signed an agreement between the two chambers of commerce, vocational training and signed an important agreement called the agreement of bilateral protection and encouragement of investment, which will guarantee the protection and encouragement of Turkish investment in Yemen and vice versa.
As the Turkish embassy in Sanaa emphasizes, this is only the beginning of a series of an exchange of visits between the two countries. In October, the Minister of electricity would be visiting Turkey to discuss future cooperation in the fields of energy and implementing electricity projects in Yemen. Then there will be a phase in which electrical generators would be installed to provide electricity to a large sector of the country.
After the holy month of Ramadhan this year, a high ranking official delegation headed by the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs is planned to visit Yemen and focus on how to improve the relationship in the political front.
It is worthwhile mentioning that the visit was achieved with great persistence of the Turkish Embassy in Sanaa which worked in it for months. We consider this as a milestone in the relationship between Yemen and Turkey and a step towards broader cooperation in all fields between the two brotherly countries. said Mr. Sanli Topcuoglu, the Turkish Ambassador to Yemen. This is also the common interception of the Yemeni side as the Minister of Supplies and Trade, al-Kumaim says They do want to improve bilateral relations with Turkey in every field, and we see this as a great opportunity to do so.

——
[archive-e:37-v:2000-y:2000-d:2000-09-11-p:./2000/iss37/ln.htm]