In 2023, TİKA extended Türkiye’s hand of friendship all across the globe with 1326 projects and activities.

In 2023, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) extended Türkiye’s hand of friendship all across the globe with 1326 projects and activities.

Established in 1992, TİKA has carried out over 30,000 projects and activities to this day, 93 percent of which took place after 2002.

Thanks to these activities, TİKA extended Türkiye’s hand of friendship across a wide area, from Palestine to Arakan, from Bosnia and Herzegovina to South Africa, from Mongolia to Latin America, contributing to Türkiye’s efforts in the field of international cooperation.

TİKA had 12 Program Coordination Offices across the globe back in 2002, and by 2023, this amount reached 63 and TİKA increased the number of countries it operates in from 28 to over 170.

In 2023, more than 3000 foreign experts benefited from the training sessions offered by TİKA.

Cooperating with public institutions and organizations for the development of the capacity of human resources, TİKA is holding vocational training sessions in various fields such as healthcare, agriculture, animal husbandry, judiciary, media, and IT. In 2023, approximately 3200 foreign experts benefited from these programs and the number of foreigners who benefited from the vocational training sessions since 2002 is now close to 50,000.

As TİKA carried out humanitarian aid projects to ease the effects of humanitarian crises in various regions, it extended Türkiye’s hand of aid to those in need after the earthquakes in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Libya, in 2023.

TİKA extended Türkiye’s hand of friendship all across the globe with 1326 projects and activities in 2023.

“We will increase the number of our projects in line with the vision of ‘Century of Türkiye’.”

Speaking about the institution’s projects to the journalist of Anadolu Agency, the President of TİKA, Serkan Kayalar stated that 2023 marked the 100^th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye, and they carried out projects and activities that bear this happiness abroad within this scope, 35 projects and activities in 18 countries in total.

Kayalar stated, “TİKA will continue to support the sincere coordination efforts of Türkiye for the global implementation of United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals in the future. We believe 2024 will be much more efficient and fruitful. We will increase the number of our projects in line with the vision of ‘Century of Türkiye’.” Kayalar also highlighted that they completed almost 200 projects to contribute to the cultural life in 2023.

Stating that the number of monuments TİKA restored in the last 20 years was 140 in 40 different countries, Kayalar explained that they continued to carry out projects to protect our common cultural heritage in 2023 and completed the restorations of important monuments, and also 6 restoration projects were currently ongoing.

The Bilge Tonyukuk Museum Opens to Visit in 2024 with TİKA’s Support

Stating “We continue to help strengthen Turkic world’s bonds in the field of development cooperation.”, Kayalar noted that they signed the “Memorandum of Understanding” in December 2023 with the Organization of Turkic States to cooperate in various fields, they continued to support the archaeological excavations within the scope of the Orkhon Inscriptions project, which sheds light on Turkish history and is so important for the Turkic world, and they continued their work on the Bilge Tonyukuk Museum, foundations of which they had laid in 2022, and they would open the museum for visit this year.

Noting their efforts in Northern Africa, Kayalar stated that the restoration of the complex in Tripoli, the capital city of Libya, which hosts the tomb of Dragut, known as “Conqueror of Tripoli”, would start this year.

Stating that they constructed the Hall of Türkiye in the National Museum of Cultures in Mexico, Kayalar noted that this hall was quite important as it was a first in Middle and Latin America in this sense, and he continued:

“TİKA’s inclusive restoration of the Potocari Old Battery Factory, which was among the epicenters of the genocide happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina was started in 2023 as Srebrenica Potočari Genocide Victims Memorial Museum. We believe this museum is critically important to keep the memory of the sufferings alive.

The sufferings in Palestine are affecting us all. Through TİKA, approximately 1100 projects have been carried out in Palestine so far. As you all know, Türkiye is supporting the people of the sister-country Palestine with all its might, which has been under Israel’s attack, and condemning the massacre towards Gaza since October 7. At TİKA, we strive to transport the necessary supplies such as food parcels, blankets, sleep sets, winter clothes, and medical supply sets with various humanitarian aid projects.”