Ambassador of Turkey to Montenegro, Ms Songul Ozan, talks in the interview for CdM about relations between the two countries, tourism, pandemic, solidarity… She also touches on the coup attempt and Turkey’s fight against terrorism and activities of FETO terrorist organization.
“First of all, I’d like to congratulate on 13 July, Statehood Day of Montenegro. We share history with Montenegro, culture and even family connection. Many families here have relatives in Turkey and many families in Turkey have relative is Montenegro. It is quite natural that in one family everybody overcomes difficult times together. Happiness increases when it’s shared. During these tough times, helping each other and solidarity is a nice example of our friendship”, Ambassador said.
It wasn’t only in healthcare area that Turkey offered help, but it also helped hundreds of citizens of both countries to come back to their homeland and their families.
“We worked as one team with Montenegrin institutions. We owe them our gratitude. Our relations in the domain of economy and trade are in constant rise. We have some very important Turkish investments here. Our prestigious companies are active here. Montenegrin beauty is very popular in Turkey”, Ambassador says.
Cooperation to be promoted after pandemic
Ambassador says that number of Turkish who opt to buy housing units in Montenegro is one the rise.
“In my opinion, our cooperation will focus on the area of transport, tourism, agriculture, energy and healthcare. Interest in the Airports is also huge. As two friendly and partner-countries, we want to bring our economic relations to the highest level”, Ambassador is clear.
Asked to comment on political and social current affairs in MNE, Ms Ozan says that Turkey is part of the Balkans geographically and historically and thus wants peace, well-being, stability and stable neighborly relations in the region.
“That requires all countries in the region to be under the umbrella of Euro-Atlantic institutions. It is very important that Montenegro is moving quickly on its EU path and contributes to permanent peace in the region”, Ambassador says.
Coup attempt in Turkey four years ago
On 15 July, Turkey will mark the 4th year since the coup was attempted in that state.
Ambassador Ozan says that they have been fighting against FETO over the past four years.
“With the aim of destroying our democracy and taking over our institutions, in the night if 15 July 2016, FETO conducted air strikes on the presidency, national assembly, officers who opposed the coup and people who took to the streets. Members of this terrorist organization have been brought to justice and convicted”, Ambassador pointed out.
The network established by members of this terrorist organization has been exposed.
“We have made very good results in clearing our country and public institutions from the members of this network. But the fight is still on”, Ambassador said.
As she says, every country is warned that this is criminal and intelligence organization, dangerous for every state.
“More and more countries are starting to take our warnings seriously, some of them have even forbidden FETO. The so called schools of this organization were closed in 38 countries. I would like to take this opportunity and thank Montenegrin authorities for showing understanding for our fight against FETO organization and for being real friends and allies.”, Ambassador says.
Congratulations to Montenegro on dealing with coronavirus
Ambassador talks about how Turkey is dealing with the coronavirus.
“Montenegro really deserves to be congratulated. Although there has been an increase in the number of cases over the past few weeks, I think the situation will be resolved thanks to the measures in place”, Ambassador said.
Turkey’s fight with the virus can also serve as an example.
“We have managed to reduce number of death cases. People are trying to get used to the new situation. The pain for lost lives is great. But we have seen that Turkish healthcare system is strong and doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers are qualified, brave and generous”, she said.
How is Turkey helping tourism
Turkey is a tourist country, and measures implemented to cur coronavirus pandemic have affected that sector.
“Our average annual profit from tourism amounts to around €35 billion. Millions of tourists come tom our country every year. The epidemic has definitely affected our tourism, and consequently, tourism season is very bad. In order to overcome this situation, Turkish tourism sector is introducing new concepts of hotels and resorts, to match our new way of life. We have in our offer hotels that have been adapted to the epidemic situation. You can find more details about that on Turkish portals”, Ambassador points out.
With strong infrastructure, expertise, professional staff, Turkish tourism is working on overcoming this epidemic with as little damage as possible.
“In that context, we are willing to share our experience with friendly states, like Montenegro. I firmly believe we are going to get through this difficulty thanks to cooperation, solidarity, and sharing experiences with each other”, Ambassador concluded.
