SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited one of the oldest mosques in Bosnia Wednesday, which was recently renovated with funds provided by Turkey.
Erdogan attended a ceremony to mark the reopening of the Sultan Fatih Mosque and the Isa-bey hamam (Turkish bath) in the capital Sarajevo, which went through crucial restoration works.
Several hundred Bosnians, including Bosnian politician Bakir Izetbegovic and a large number of domestic and foreign officials attended the ceremony.
Later, Erdogan visited the grave of Sarajevo’s founder Isa Isakovic.
The ceremony was organized by the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina in cooperation with Turkey's Prime Ministry Directorate General of Foundations and Turkish Administration for International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA).
Adnan Ertem, general director of the Prime Ministry directorate, said that TIKA had implemented several projects in Bosnia and expressed satisfaction with the recently concluded restoration works.
The Turkish bath “Hammam Isa Isakovic” was built by Isa Beg Isakovic, who was a military commander and founder of Sarajevo city, during his reign between 1454 and 1463. The restoration work began in April 2013 and was financed by Turkey's Prime Ministry Directorate General of Foundations, which provided 2.6 million BAM.
Restoration of the mosque began in June 2014, which is one of the oldest mosque in Sarajevo built by Isa Beg Isakovic in 1457. The mosque was presented as a gift to Sultan Mehmed II (Fatih).
Bosnia is a Muslim-majority country with a population of around four million people.
50 million euro loan
Erdogan also attended, in Sarajevo, the signing ceremony of a 50 million euro ($55.5 million) credit line from the Turkish Ziraat Bank, aimed at supporting small and medium-sized businesses in Bosnia.
"As Turkey, we want more direct investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because we believe that the current situation is not enough, and therefore we want to encourage local investors to more vigorous approach to the development of Bosnia," said Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "What is also important is to ensure stability within the borders of the country, because in this way it is possible to establish an effective mechanism of development."
General Manager of Ziraat Bank in Bosnia, Ali Riza Akbas, said that the signing of a new credit line primarily directed towards growth and economic development of Bosnia.
In a similar operation in 2012, a loan of 100 million euros ($110 million) had been offered.
Erdogan said that thanks to projects implemented by Ziraat Bank, so far 6.000 new jobs had been provided.
