TİKA Receives Award in Croatia

In the ceremony held at the Zagreb Mimara Museum for the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Croatian-Turkish Friendship Association, founded in 1994 in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) was presented with a Croatian-Turkish Friendship Certificate of Appreciation.

The second President of Croatia, Stjepan Mesić, Deputy Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia, Vice Skračić, President of the Southeast Europe Sector and EU Enlargement, Matija Očurščak, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, Ambassador Faruk Kaymakçı, Turkish Ambassador to Zagreb, Mustafa Babür Hızlan, Doğuş Holding Chairman, Ferit Şahenk, Honorary President of Süzer Group, Mustafa Süzer, TİKA Zagreb Office officers, Yunus Emre Institute’s Zagreb Branch officers, many MPs and senior bureaucrats from the Croatian Parliament, and Croatians who love Turkey attended the ceremony which was organized as the last and most comprehensive event of the association's year-long activities.

Greeting the guests with the opening speech, Goran Beus Richembergh, president of the Croatian-Turkish Friendship Association, conveyed his thanks for all the support that has been given to the association whose most important goal is to develop and maintain good relations between Croatia and Turkey, and thanked TİKA for being the main sponsor of the ceremony. He invited all the institutions in Croatia and Turkey to further enhance the cooperation between the two countries.

Deputy Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia, Vice Skračić, said the fact that the friendship association was found immediately after the official start of bilateral relations between Croatia and Turkey is the result of the development and deepening of cooperation between the two countries and peoples. Vice Skračić thanked the Croatian-Turkish Friendship Association for being one of the most active associations among other Croatian friendship associations. He stated that the participation of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Faruk Kaymakçı in the ceremony is a proof of improved relations between the two countries.

Stating that the first diplomatic relations between Croatia and Turkey were established in 1992, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Faruk Kaymakçı mentioned the importance of maintaining the economic, cultural, diplomatic and all kinds of relations between the two countries. Kaymakçı pointed out that the Croatian-Turkish Friendship Association which was founded two years after the start of diplomatic relations is also of great importance in terms of cultural diplomacy between the two countries, conveying his thanks to the association for all it has accomplished so far on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey. Kaymakçı also thanked for Croatia’s support to Turkey in the process of Turkey’s admission into the European Union so far as he is also the Director for EU Affairs of the Republic of Turkey. Kaymakçı told he wishes that Croatia’s supports for Turkey’s admission into the European Union will continue particularly during the term presidency that will begin in January.

Mustafa Süzer, Honorary President of Süzer Group, stated that they are trying to contribute to expanding the volume of cooperation between the two countries and to mediate investments, to provide high-quality services as a suitor for all banking services. He thanked the association for the successful works it has carried out so far.

At the closing ceremony, the management of the Croatian-Turkish Friendship Association presented awards to the institutions and individuals who have supported the association so far. Turkish and Croatian institutions, organizations, and individuals such as Doğuş Holding Chairman Ferit Şahenk, Honorary President of Süzer Group Mustafa Süzer, Turkish Airlines, Šibenik City Museum, Hena.com, President of the Coordination of Croatian Friendship Associations, as well as Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency were presented with the Croatian-Turkish Friendship Certificate of Appreciation for “all the efforts to strengthen Croatian-Turkish cooperation, for the contribution to increasing the capacities of local communities, and for the generous support in achieving the purpose of the Croatian-Turkish Friendship Association”. Zagreb Program Coordinator Haşim Koç received the certificate on behalf of TİKA.