A Turkish Government Delegation visited IWAAS
 

On October 12th, 2018, a 10-member Turkish government delegation, headed by Cemil Ozgur Onegi, the vice governor of Izmir province, visited Institute of West-Asian and African Studies (IWAAS). Members of the delegation talked to experts from IWAAS about the “Belt and Road Initiative” and China-Turkish relations. This academic exchange, held at the No.1 meeting room, was organized by “Studies on Middle East Hotspot Issues and China’s responses” innovative project group, and hosted by associate professor Wang Feng, deputy director of Division of International Relations Studies of IWAAS.

Members of the delegation included Omer Kaplan, president of the Honorary Consuls Association in Turkey, Jordan Honorary Consul, Mehemer Ensarioglu, director of Izmir investment coordination Bureau, and Ni Xiaojing, deputy consul of Chinese Consulate General in Izmir.

Experts and members of the delegation exchanged their views on several issues, including the further cooperation on implementing the “Belt and Road Initiative”, Izmir’s positions and roles and Turkey-Saudi relations. Both sides agreed that relations between China and Turkey were strengthening while cooperation between two countries on the “Belt and Road Initiative” was deepening; and that some achievements had been made in the fields of infrastructure connectivity, energy cooperation, tourism and cultural exchanges. Both sides looked forward to further developing in-depth China-Turkish relations. Members of the Turkish delegation also pointed out that, China’s rapid developments had provided Turkey with great opportunities; and the “Belt and Road Initiative” was a road for peace connecting Asia, Europe and Africa, which Turkey would strongly support. Izmir located in Western Turkey, bridged Europe and Asia, was Turkish significant economic, cultural, educational center as well as a tour city and traffic hub, which could play an important role in the construction of the “Belt and Road”. Both sides reached a consensus that, in order to better serve China-Turkish relations, two countries should strengthen the exchanges of think tanks and make further cooperation on education.

Over 20 scholars and graduate students from IWAAS participated in this academic exchange.