TOKYO (AA) - Turkish and Japanese officials have agreed to boost trade volume and improve relations.
In a visit to Japan on the sidelines of Wednesday's ceremony in the coastal Japanese town of Kushimoto to mark sinking of the Turkish Frigate Ertugrul off Japanese shores 125 years ago, Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek held a series of meetings with Japanese officials on Thursday and visited Turkish Embassy in capital Tokyo.
"We regard Japan as a strategic partner as part of Turkey's initiative policy towards the Southeast Asia region," Cicek said.
Cicek praised Japan as the most developed country in its region with its high technology, educated labor force and loyalty to its culture.
The Turkish parliament speaker also spoke of an increasing interest in Japan for Turkey. "Japan can be a key contributor in projects both completed such as Marmaray -- the railway tunnel underneath the Bosphorus Strait --and those Turkey is still pursuing as part of its 2023 targets to mark the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic," he said.
He added that his talks in Tokyo were fruitful in terms of boosting trade volume.
During his visit, Cicek met Masaaki Yamazaki -- President of the Upper House of Japanese Parliament, called the House of Councillors -- and Tadamori Oshima -- President of the House of Representatives -- after visiting the Tokyo Mosque and Turkey's Yunus Emre Institute.
He also had talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the Prime Ministerial Residence in Tokyo, where he said they exchanged views and agreed to improve ties and to increase the trade volume which stood at around $3.6 billion in 2014.
Cicek is set to depart from Tokyo late Friday for Turkey after concluding his talks in the city. Japanese PM Abe also described Turkey as a key partner, saying "Our friendship will continue just as today."
- The Sinking of Ottoman Frigate Ertugrul
More than 580 sailors lost their lives on September 16, 1890 when the Turkish ship Ertugrul was caught in a typhoon off the coast of Wakayama prefecture, before drifting into a reef and sinking off an island close to Kushimoto en route to Istanbul.
The people of Kushimoto had helped the stranded sailors, and the entire saga became a milestone in historic friendly relations between Turkey and Japan.
A Turkish frigate, TCG Gediz, embarked April 1 from the southwestern Turkish town of Marmaris on a journey to Kushimoto.
Launched to simulate the voyage Ertugrul made 125 years ago, the modern vessel finished its two-month historic journey on Tuesday. However, Wednesday’s event had to be moved to the Kushimoto Cultural Center amid adverse weather conditions.
Gediz is not the first Turkish vessel to simulate Ertugrul’s goodwill voyage. The Turgutreis frigate had traveled to Japan for the first time in 1990, and again in 2000. Another vessel named Gemlik had sailed for a third journey in 2011.
