ISTANBUL

Turkish Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said Saturday that Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ upcoming visit to Türkiye is “extremely important” for stronger ties between the two neighbors.

Speaking at the Turkish-Greek Media and Academy Forum at a hotel in Istanbul, Altun said the visit marks a “serious opportunity” to create joint solutions for regional problems.

Stating that the relations between Türkiye and Greece are first and foremost a neighborly relationship and shaped by geographical proximity, Altun emphasized that the two countries are geopolitically located in one of the most challenging regions of the world.

Saying that the geographical proximity that brings Türkiye and Greece together and the geopolitical difficulties and challenges they face are the elements that they frequently refer to when discussing relations between the two countries, Altun said another very important issue that is noteworthy in the relations between Türkiye and Greece is historical, cultural and social ties.

Pointing out that the ties between Turkish and Greek societies diversify cultures and cultural assets and enrich daily life, Altun said: “Undoubtedly, this situation is a great opportunity for both Türkiye and Greece. We have all seen together how strong these ties are in the recent painful experiences we have had. The spirit of solidarity displayed by our countries, both during the earthquakes of Feb. 6 in Türkiye and during the great forest fires in Greece, was a concrete sign of this closeness.”

The director also said friendship and solidarity between Türkiye and Greece is “undoubtedly an achievement that should be further developed and carried forward through diplomatic initiatives.”

“I am convinced that the sincere mutual efforts between Türkiye and Greece will not only benefit our countries. It will also contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in our region. Thus, it will also contribute to global peace, stability and security,” Altun said.

The director also said Türkiye believes “our good neighborly relations with Greece should be maintained by taking these potentials into consideration and we attach great importance to this.”

“With the 5th High Level Cooperation Council meeting held in Athens on Dec. 7, 2023, for the first time in seven years, the two countries demonstrated their will to benefit from these potentials at the level of the leaders themselves. The 15 different cooperation agreements signed there and the Athens Declaration are the most important indicators of this fact,” he said.

“The will of our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Mr. Mitsotakis to resolve our current problems within the framework of constructive dialogue, good neighborly relations and international law is also a very important element,” Altun underlined.

“We think that the visit of Greek Prime Minister Mr. Kiryakos Mitsotakis to our country on Monday, May 13 is also extremely important and a serious opportunity to strengthen our bilateral relations,” he said.

Visa on arrival beneficial for tourism

Altun also hailed the visa on arrival system that has been recently implemented by Greece for Turkish citizens. The system allows Turks to visit certain Greek islands easily as they will get their visas at the gate.

“We consider the implementation of travel facilities such as visa on arrival as an important development in this sense. With this compromise reached between the two countries, it has been possible to further increase the friendship and interaction between the Turkish and Greek peoples,” he said.

Altun also touched on trade between the two countries.

“In this respect, during the official visit on Dec. 7, an agreement was reached to increase the bilateral trade volume to $10 billion,” he said.

“The fact that both Türkiye and Greece have the world's most attractive tourism destinations, global importance in terms of trade and energy shipments as two important actors in the Mediterranean region, and geographical advantages in terms of mutual direct investments as well as joint investments in third countries are the main economic opportunities for our countries,” said Altun.

“The removal of quotas on land transportation and the liberalization of the transit regime will also accelerate trade between Türkiye and Greece,” he added.