site.btaBulgaria Is Turkey's Friend, Ally and Partner, Turkish Ambassador in Sofia Says

112 POLITICS - TURKEY - AMBASSADOR

Bulgaria Is Turkey's Friend, Ally and Partner,
Turkish Ambassador in Sofia
Says


Sofia/Istanbul, December 29 (BTA Exclusive by Nahide Deniz) -
Turkish Ambassador here, Suleyman Gokce, said in an interview
for BTA that "Bulgaria is a friend, ally and partner of Turkey
and all this makes our relations more special in comparison with
those with other countries."

There are many things that make Turkey's relations with Bulgaria
much more special than those with other countries, Ambassador
Gokce said. In the past year while he held this post in
Bulgaria, bilateral relations received new impetus, hand in hand
with a number of initiatives that help people develop mutual
business, communicate and read the history they share without
prejudice.

At the same time, however, the 365 days of 2014 proved
insufficient to unfold the entire potential of Turkish-Bulgarian
relations, the Ambassador admitted, also underscoring the
negative impact of the political instability in Bulgaria over
the year. "Turkey wants political stability in Bulgaria because
we can achieve the desired prosperity in our relations only in
this way," he underscored.

Gokce also pointed out the similarities between the Turkish and
Bulgarian people stemming from their common past which, in his
opinion, facilitates the further development of their relations.

"Our relations with Bulgaria are no longer limited to the
alliance in NATO and cooperation in European structures alone.
We can also have a successful dialogue on issues on which we are
of the opposite opinions and I think this is a very important
achievement," Gokce underscored.

Listing the events that made the greatest impression on him
during the first year of his diplomatic mission in Sofia, the
Turkish Ambassador mentioned the developments in the field of
air transport and tourism, including a new Turkish Airlines
destination between Istanbul and Varna (on the Black Sea), as
well as charter flights from Turkey to Plovdiv Airport (Southern
Bulgaria) for the first time this winter. Plovdiv is located
close to the winter resort of Pamporovo.

"The number of Turkish tourists in Bulgaria's winter resorts in
season 2015 is expected to increase to the point of 10 per cent
of all foreign tourists. Bulgaria decided to issue
multiple-entry visas for Turkish citizens so that they could
spend their winter holidays in Bulgarian resorts. This is a
positive step, but we think that is not enough," Gokce said,
adding that the Bulgarian side has been offered the model by
which Turkey operates with Greece. The Turkish Ambassador thinks
the waiver of visas for Turkish citizens travelling to
Bulgaria, for which his country has been insisting, will be an
exceedingly positive step towards the development of full
potential.

Gokce also mentioned some actions on the Turkish side focused on
the rights of the Bulgarian community in Turkey, as for example
the rehabilitation of the Bulgarian church of St. Stephen by
Istanbul's City Hall and the return of ownership of 56
properties to the Bulgarian Orthodox community in Turkey by the
Turkish government.

"We would want the matters involving the property of Muslim
community in Bulgaria to be resolved on the basis of good
neighborly relations and dialogue between our two countries.
Regrettably, however, the attack on the mosque in Plovdiv, the
demands for taking down the news in Turkish from being broadcast
by the Bulgarian National Television and some other negative
developments caused concern. It is with regret that were speak
of such events because they are detrimental to the general
climate of good neighborly relations, cause concern among
Bulgarian citizens of Turkish descent and their compatriots
whose families once emigrated to Turkey," Gokce said.

However, the Turkish Ambassador expressed confidence that the
implementation of democratic reforms in Bulgaria and the
potential of the young people in both countries will help erase
the negative elements.

Asked to comment on the condition of business and the objective
of Sofia and Ankara to increase two-way trade to the point of
10,000 million dollars, the Ambassador recalled the decision to
unite Turkish business structures in Sofia, Plovdiv and Shoumen,
which he says allows the stagnation caused by the crisis to be
overcome and to achieve the objective concerning trade. Turkish
investments in Bulgaria amount to some 3,000 million dollars to
date and Turkish businesses have opened over 10,000 new jobs in
Bulgaria.

"Turkish foreign policy is focused not on crises but on a new
vision. The vision which unites us with Bulgaria is expansion of
cooperation in Euro-Atlantic structures and cooperation in
European structures," Ambassador Gokce pointed out. "I think we
have to discuss and resolve a lot of matters with Bulgaria in
2015, more specifically how we could be mutually beneficial in
business, energy projects and health care, not waste time and
energy for artificially provoked problems," he said.

Ambassador Gokce wished a peaceful and bountiful New Year for
the people of Turkey and Bulgaria, as well as for all people in
the world. "May the respect for all our citizens, regardless of
their race, religious or ethnic affiliation, be one of the
values we will share in the new year of 2015," he said./PK/BR