Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country and Germany aim to increase the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries from $50 billion to $60 billion.

This came in a joint press conference on Wednesday held by President Erdogan with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

Erdogan added: “We hope that Turkey and Germany will from now on talk about joint production projects in defense industries and not about obstacles.”

He continued: “We want to completely remove from our agenda the restrictions we face in the defense industries with Germany.”

He stressed that human ties contributed to strengthening existing bilateral relations between the two countries, thanking in this context the German people for standing by the Turks in the devastating earthquake disaster that struck southern Turkey on February 6, 2023.

The Turkish President pointed out that he discussed with his German counterpart bilateral relations in all their aspects and details, stressing Ankara’s desire to strengthen relations with Berlin.

He continued: “Our cooperation in the field of tourism is developing day after day. In 2023, we hosted more than 6 million German tourists, and I believe that this number will increase.”

He added: “We discussed the steps that must be taken, especially with regard to the customs union agreement and visa liberalization. We also exchanged views on regional and international developments.”

Erdogan indicated that he discussed with Steinmeier issues related to the Turkish community in Germany, and stated that they attach importance to the integration of the Turkish community there and encourage it to do so.

He stressed that Turkey considers the new German citizenship law, which makes dual citizenship possible, an important step in this context.

He added, “But on the other hand, our concerns are increasing about the anti-foreigner, anti-Islamic, far-right, and racist organizations that are rising in Germany and throughout Europe.”

He stated that during his meeting with Steinmeier, he also touched on combating terrorist organizations that disturb the peace in Germany and attack representative offices belonging to Turkey.

He continued: “We need more effective cooperation in combating these organizations that harm our alliance. We expect more support and solidarity from the German authorities in the fight against terrorism.”

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The statement published on the account of the Turkish Directorate of Communications and Anti-Disinformation Center on the (X) platform stated that the truck that appeared in the video in question was carrying body bags.

This is “as claimed,” and the statement said that it was determined that the images in question were not recorded in İskenderun, but rather at a gas station on Ataturk Street in the Samandag area.

 It was said that the bodies were transported in bags on the bed of the truck in Hatay Iskenderun, but the rumor was denied by the directorate, saying:

“This claim is not true. The bodies of all our citizens who lost their lives in the earthquake that also struck Samandag have been handed over to their families and relatives and buried.”

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On Monday, an earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale struck the state of Malatya, southeastern Turkey.

According to a statement issued by the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), an earthquake occurred at 16:19, and its epicenter was in the Butorga district.

The statement explained that the magnitude of the earthquake reached 4.4 on the Richter scale, and it occurred at a depth of 9.6 kilometers.

In turn, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerli Kaya said that AFAD teams and the relevant authorities began surveying the field damage resulting from the earthquake.

He confirmed in a blog post on the “X” platform that no negative developments had been recorded so far, wishing safety for the citizens who felt the earthquake.

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The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) extended a hand of friendship and assistance to many countries around the world during the year 2023, through 1,326 projects and events in various fields.

TIKA, which was founded in 1992, has so far implemented more than 30,000 projects and events, 93 percent of which were after 2002.

Through these projects and events, the Turkish hand of friendship extended to the world from Palestine to Arakan, from Bosnia and Herzegovina to South Africa, from Mongolia to Latin America.

TIKA projects have contributed to strengthening Turkey’s presence in the field of global cooperation, as the number of countries in which it is active has reached 170 by 2023.

During the past year, 3,200 foreign experts benefited from the educational courses held by TIKA in various fields, while this number has approached 50,000 foreign experts since 2002.

TIKA was present in many natural disasters that occurred in 2023, in order to alleviate the victims, such as the earthquakes in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the floods in Libya and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In his speech, the president of TIKA said that they continue to implement projects in various fields around the world in line with the vision of the “Century of Turkey.”

He added that the Turkish agency contributes a major role to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

He stated that TIKA has completed the restoration of 140 archaeological monuments in 40 countries over the past 20 years, while restoration work on 6 projects is currently ongoing.

Regarding Palestine, Kayalar explained that they implemented nearly 1,100 projects in Palestine, in addition to conducting many campaigns to distribute humanitarian aid.

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Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Mehmet Özhaseki shared a video on his social media account about earthquake housing in a correctional area in Gaziantep that was affected by the February 6 earthquakes.

In the video, a citizen named Medina says, “God bless our state.” Drawing attention to his words, Özhaseki said, “Since the earthquakes of February 6 until today, the state and the nation have cooperated.

We have healed our wounds together, completing our strong and safe homes one by one and we hope that under the leadership of our people.

“Mr. President, we will make our disaster-hit cities more beautiful and disaster-resistant than before.”

From the February 6 earthquakes until today, the state and the nation have cooperated. We healed our wounds together and built our strong and safe homes one by one.

In the video, which includes the opinions of citizens affected by the earthquake, one of the earthquake victims said that while they believed they could create a new system in a period of up to 20 years.

They were surprised by the construction of homes within a year and said, “Homes have been built where people can lay their heads before the end of the year. God bless our state.”

One of the earthquake victims said:

“The houses are very beautiful. May God bless you a thousand times. Our condition did not make us miserable or humiliated.” In the video, other earthquake victims also expressed their relief because the houses were complete and beautiful.

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President of the Turkish Federation of Hotel Owners, Erkan Yağcı, expects that the tourism sector will achieve growth this year by about 15 percent.

Yağcı explained in a statement on Saturday that the year 2023 witnessed a noticeable increase in the number of tourists and tourism revenues.

He said: “Despite the earthquake (that struck Kahramanmaraş), the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, and the tension between Israel and Palestine, Turkish tourism will end in 2023 with a growth rate of 15 percent compared to last year.”

Yağcı pointed out that “2023 was not an easy year, but the result was good.”

He added: “2019 was a record year in the field of tourism, and looking at the data, 2023 exceeds 2019.”

It is noteworthy that Turkey ranked sixth in the world in receiving tourists, after 52.5 million visitors visited it in 2019, according to the World Tourism Organization.

Yağcı continued: “Tourism has gained great momentum, and Turkey ranked fourth in the global tourism classification in terms of the number of tourists, and has become a tourist country and a brand that has consolidated its position in the world.”

He concluded by saying: “As long as there are no negative political and economic developments in our region, 2024 will be better than 2023.”

Yesterday, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that Turkey received 52 million 742 thousand and 526 visitors during the first 11 months of this year.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Saturday the launch of the largest urban transformation campaign in the city of Istanbul.

This came during an event at a conference center in the city entitled: “The Greater Urban Transformation Program in Istanbul.”

He stressed that the government will provide great support to the campaign, by providing cash aid and loans to citizens.

He pointed out that the total losses of the Turkish economy due to the February 6 earthquake amounted to 104 billion dollars.

He pointed out that the foundation stone was laid for the construction of 3,037 housing units in several areas of Istanbul today.

He stated that they will work to accelerate the transformation work by building 400,000 homes in Istanbul alone.

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An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale struck the state of Malatya in central Turkey on Thursday evening.

According to a statement issued by the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), an earthquake occurred at 17:46 (GMT+3) and its epicenter was in the Batal Ghazi district.

The statement explained that the earthquake’s strength reached 5.2 on the Richter scale, while its depth reached 6.99 kilometers.

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Turkey played a constructive and important role in exporting grains from Ukraine, expressing his thanks to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his personal contributions in this regard.

This came in a press conference by the German Chancellor and the Turkish President as part of a one-day working visit by Erdogan to the capital, Berlin.

Scholz explained: “Turkey played a constructive and important role in exporting grains from Ukraine. I thank President Erdogan for his personal contributions.”

The German Chancellor pointed out that they are dealing with many crises in the world.

He stated that they agreed with President Erdogan to end “Russian aggression” against Ukraine.

He recalled that the proposal regarding the protocol for Sweden’s accession to NATO had been submitted to the Turkish Parliament for ratification, expressing his belief that Sweden would become a member of it.

Referring to the Israeli attacks on Gaza, Scholz said that they “unequivocally condemn Hamas.”

He added: “We will talk about what we can do in light of the tension in the region. We are concerned about the spread of conflict in the region.”

He continued: “Israel has the right to defend itself in accordance with international law, and we say that every life has equal value. What the people of Gaza are going through also saddens us, and this year we are also providing assistance worth 160 million euros.”

He continued: “The two-state solution must be the ultimate goal. Israel’s right to exist is a must for us, and there is no place for anti-Semitism in our country.”

Regarding the number of Muslims in his country, Scholz said, “Five million Muslims have a place here in Germany, and we are against those who deny them.”

The German Chancellor stated that there are great tensions in the Middle East and that what is happening in the region concerns them.

He added: “It is true that we partly differ in opinions. It is important to speak directly in difficult times.”

He indicated that he would discuss with President Erdogan the tangible progress regarding Turkey’s membership in the European Union, adding: “We have fallen behind our potential in relations, and we will see what kind of progress we can achieve here.”

Speaking about the importance of irregular migration, Scholz said: “We want to reduce it. A good agreement was reached (with Turkey) in 2016. We want to contribute to improving (this agreement) in the European Union and maintaining it. This agreement is for our mutual benefit.” .

He stressed that the German and Turkish peoples have close relations in many aspects, indicating that the importance of this relationship was demonstrated by the aid provided by Germany during the earthquake of February 6, 2023 in Turkey.

In the question-and-answer section of the press conference, Scholz reiterated Germany’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself and said: “We must reduce the number of civilian casualties.”

He stressed that Germany had taken steps at an early stage to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, and accused Hamas of “holding Gaza hostage.”

He pointed out that negotiations had been held with countries such as Egypt, Qatar and Turkey to release the hostages and allow foreign citizens in Gaza to leave the region, recalling that this issue was also raised at the European Union summit.

Scholz said that Hamas should be prevented from repeating the attacks of last October 7, stressing the need to support the two-state solution as a perspective for the future.

He pointed to the importance of Turkey’s support for the Black Sea Grains Initiative, adding: “There was very good mediation (by Turkey). Unfortunately, and very sadly, Russia withdrew from this agreement.”

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The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) distributed winter tents to a thousand families affected by the earthquake in Herat Province, western Afghanistan.

Arafat Deniz, coordinator of TIKA’s office in Herat, said that the agency “had previously distributed food parcels to two thousand families affected by the earthquakes that struck Herat last October.”

Deniz explained that they recently “distributed winter tents to a thousand needy families in the villages of the Zindajan region” in the state.

He also pointed out that the agency has established “10 mobile toilets in the area, and we are working to provide more assistance.”

Last October, Herat Province was exposed to a series of strong earthquakes and aftershocks, some measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale.

The Taliban government announced that about 2,500 people lost their lives and thousands more were injured as a result of earthquakes and aftershocks in the region.

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