Hungary confers medal to Turkish aid agency’s boss

ANKARA 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban honored the head of the Turkey's state-run aid agency with a medal in Ankara on Friday.

The premier presented an order of merit medal to Serdar Cam, the president of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), during a ceremony at the Hungarian embassy in the Turkish capital.

"We are grateful for your support," Orban said.

"TIKA, headed by Cam, is contributing to the promotion of education, health and public institutions in Hungary and Hungarian culture in Turkey," he said.

He said TIKA has been involved in the country since 2014, underlining the project of unearthing the tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent's in southern Hungary.

In 2015, some historians discovered what they believe to be the shrine and mosque, where the internal remains of Suleiman the Magnificent were interred in 1566.

"This is the biggest and most important project jointly undertaken by Turkey and Hungary," the prime minister said.

Since then, joint Turkish-Hungarian team has been working on structures where they believe Suleiman’s organs were buried following his death during a Balkans campaign.

"We make ourselves weaker and poorer, if we do not keep, uncover and transfer cultural heritage to future generations," Orban said.

Cam, on the occasion, said they "will make every effort to improve our relationships".

He also said that he accepted the award of merit on behalf of all TIKA employees. He also thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim for their support in the agency's projects.

TIKA has completed 60 projects in Hungary since 2014, half of which were aimed at promoting social and cultural cooperation while others were linked to education, restoration and health.

*Reporting by Zuhal Demirci and Adam Abu Bashal; Writing by Ilker Girit