TIRANA – “The current excellent relations and cooperation between the two states are expected to further diversify, develop and deepen in all areas, in general and in economic sphere, in particular,” the Turkish Ambassador to Albania, Hidayet Bayraktar told Albanian Daily News in an exclusive interviewe during which he also commemorated the 92nd anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey. 

The Ambassador highlighted that the cooperation between the two countries has expanded in all fields including the military collaboration, and stressed out that TIKA is contributing to the development of Albania in all areas, namely, health, education, infastructure, human development, capacity building and the preservation of common historical values and so on.

“Like at home,” was the answer of the Ambassador when he was asked how he felt himself as an ordinary Turkish citizen.

“Having served in Slovenia and Macedonia, I am familiar with the region and its people and culture. I feel almost like home here thanks to such cultural similarities and the warmth extended by the friendly Albanian people,” said Mr. Bayraktar who however was sad that as he noted there is a small group of authors and historians who are evaluating and distorting the common history far from scientific methods. “They are writing a discriminative and one-sided history triggering negative feelings among the peoples. We can create some joint study groups on an objective common history to consolidate the relations between the new generations of the two societies,” he said.

Dwelling on the situation in the Balkans the Ambassador witnessed a relative state of peace and stability in the region.

“The recent EU initiatives are useful in reassuring the Balkan states in their integration path with the Union. We welcome the Berlin Process in this regard. At the same time, in our opinion, this process will benefit from more inclusiveness. Turkey has a lot to contribute to the future of the Balkans together with the EU,” he said, adding that his country supported the normalization process between Kosovo and Serbia.

In the meantime Mr. Bayraktar congratulated Kosovo for the signing of Stabilization and Assosiation Agreement with the EU.

Special attention was paid by the Ambassador of the situation in Syria and the refugee crisis. “Now, the leaders of the EU countries are very well aware of the importance of Turkey in coping with the migration problem which was the main agenda of Chancellor Angela Merkel during her visit to Turkey on 18 October 2015,” the Turkish top envoy to Tirana said in the following interview with Albanian Daily News: 

-Your Excellency, thank you very much for giving Albanian Daily News this opportunity to learn something more from you on the bilateral relations between Turkey and Albania in various fields like political, economical, military and security. Are you satisfied with the bilateral exchanges and what can be done more, and secondly, does the economic cooperation match with the political atmosphere ties between Ankara and Tirana?

-First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to you for giving me this opportunity to address to the Albanian people in our special day which is the 92nd anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic in Turkey.

On this occasion, it is a great pleasure for me to congratulate the Turkish community residing in Albania.

First and foremost, it is a great pleasure for me to express that the relations between our two countries are at an excellent level.

In fact, the relations between Turkish and Albanian people go back centuries. There are many common figures between the two societes,such as,?emseddin Sami Frasheri, author of the first Turkish dictionary (Kamus-i Turki), encyclopedia (Kamusü’l Alam) and novel (Taa??uk-i Tal’at ve Fitnat); Hoca Hasan Tahsini, founding rector of the Istanbul University and Mehmet Akif Ersoy, an Albanian from Kosovo, author of the Turkish National Anthem. Many Albanians are not aware of this but I would like to stress that out 217 Sadrazam’s (then, Prime Minister) of the Ottoman State, 38 were of Albananian origin,which constituted the largest number of Sadrazam’s after the Turks. I believe, there is no need to talk about the numbers of Vezirs (then, Ministers)

Therefore, there is no doubt that the common history and culture between the two peoples and countries provide the necessary ground for the development of relations.

After the general elections with an increased political clout, the declaration of Mr. Edi Rama towards including Turkey among the strategic partners of Albania has opened a new phase in the course of our relations. For this reason, the current excellent relations and cooperation between the two states are expected to further diversify, develop and deepen in all areas, in general and in economic sphere, in particular.

The Turkish investors in Albania are highly active, especially in the sectors of banking, telecommunication, mining, energy, logistics, infrastructure, port management, textile and so on and are employing around 7,000 Albanians in the country. The trade volume between the two countries is around 400 milllion Euro, while the Turkish FDI in Albania has reached 2 billion Euros.

Frankly speaking, I am not satisfied with these figures, when comparing the excellent level of our political relations.We are always encouraging the Turkish businessmen to invest further in Albania. In fact, there is an increasing tendency by the Turkish investors to invest here and I hope that the presence of direct flights, geographical proximity, educated human resources and competitive wages as well as the political will of the Albanian Government to this end, will further contribute to the economic relations.

I also would like to underline that together with my Embassy, the Albanian-Turkish Chamber of Trade and Industry which was inaugurated on 18 December 2014 in Tirana by Mr. Nihat Zeybekci, Turkish Minister of Economy is also ready to facilitate the current and new Turkish investors in their activities in Albania.

After the collapse of communist rule in Albania, the de facto frozen relations between two countries thawed again with the high level visits including at presidential level. Institutionaly, military relations pioneered the relations at that time and are still very vivid. Even today, there are many Albanian military students studying in the Turkish War Academies. We are pleased with the military bilateral high level visits as well as the visits of Turkish military ships and submarines to Albania. The Turkish and Albanian Armed Forces are also carrying out international joint taskssuch as the one in Kabul International Airport. As NATO allies, I believe that ourcountries can achieve more in the field of military cooperation.

I would like to touch briefly on the security cooperation as well. From 1998 onwards, over 100 Albanian students graduated from the Turkish National Police Academy and they are contributing to the security of the Albanian people. The short- term professional training programs are also being served upon the request of Albanian side.

The “Security Cooperation Agreement” which was signed during the visit of President Erdogan, to Albania on 14 May 2015 established the comprehensive legal framework of the security cooperation, especially on combatting human and drug trafficking as well as international terrorism.

- TIKA has a long history of successful performance in Albania. Which are some of its activities and plans for the future?

-TIKA is contributing to the development of Albania in all areas, namely, health, education, infastructure, human development, capacity building and the preservation of common historical values and so on.

Recently, TIKA mostly focused on the area of health and renovated many hospitals from Kukes and Koplik to Rrogozhine and Vlora; and also donated emergency equipments to the hospitals in need. For the last one year, we are sending doctors employed in emergency units in Albania to Turkey for the purpose of professional training.This year, TIKA has also financially contributed to a woman’s shelter in Berat and the Centre for the Children with Down Syndrome in Tirana.

Upon the request of Mr. Edi Rama, TIKA is preparing to renovate the Castle, the Madrasa, the Bazaar Mosque and 13 historical houses in Gjirokaster. Regarding thisrenovation and restoration project, which is one of the most important and comprehensive projects of TIKA, the projection process has been finalized recently and the implementation phase is going to be initiated next year.

- Cultural relations, especially under the roof of the Turkish Cultural Center in Tirana and Shkodra have expanded. What is the message that such cooperation in this field gives to the people of Turkey and Albania in the frame of the people-to-people exchanges?

-I personally attach great importance to the cultural dimension of our relations. We are gladly observing that the cultural similarities between our two societies unfolded by the increasing trade relations motivate Albanians to learn and to know the Turkish language and culture.  Besides, the Turkish soap operas which are popular nowadays catalyzed the interest towards Turkish culture.

In fact, both societies are rediscovering each other after the collapse of the communist rule in Albania. At this point, Turkish Yunus Emre Cultural Centers, both in Tirana and Shkodra and Semsettin Sami Frasheri Cultural Center in Ankara are playing a great role.

Turkish Cultural Centers in Albania are offering Turkish language courses and promoting common cultural values from paintings to handcrafts; from literature to cinema. 

-Besides being an honorable Ambassador you are a Turkish citizen. How do you feel yourself in Albania, what is your opinion on the feelings of the ordinary Albanian people toward Turkey, its people, culture and history?

-Like at home. Having served in Slovenia and Macedonia, I am familiar with the region and its people and culture. I feelalmost like home here thanks to such cultural similarities and the warmth extended by the friendly Albanian people.

As you know Bosniaks and Albanians are the two Balkan communities which have a large presence in today’s Turkey. They are respected and welcomed. One who has been to Turkey can precisely understand what I mean. I feel just as welcome when I come to Albania.

I observe that the Albanian people are very curious towards the Turkish language and culture thanks to the increasing cultural interaction between the two nations. Many Albanian citizens somehow visited Turkey once at least for business or for leisure. I am impressed how much they know about Turkey.

On the other hand, there is a small group of authors and historians who are evaluating and distorting the common history far from scientific methods. They are writing a discriminative and one-sided history triggering negative feelings among the peoples. We can create some joint study groups on an objective common history to consolidate the relations between the new generations of the two societies.

-Turkey pays special attention to the developments in the Western Balkans. How do you evaluate the current state of things in the region and what do you expect for the future of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia?

-We witness a relative state of peace and stability in the Balkans. It can be said that the Euro-Atlantic integration perspective is the driving force behind this normalization and collaboration efforts in the region.

The recent EU initiatives are useful in reassuring the Balkan states in their integration path with the Union. We welcome the Berlin Process in this regard. At the same time, in our opinion, this process will benefit from more inclusiveness. Turkey has a lot to contribute to the future of the Balkans together with the EU.

We support the normalization process between Kosovo and Serbia. In this context, we are pleased with the resumption of the Prishtina-Belgrad Dialogue Process and the long-awaited agreements reached during the talks earlier this year in February and August.

On this occasion, I would like to congratulate Kosovo for the signing of Stabilization and Assosiation Agreement with the EU.

In addition to this, we also support the reciprocal rapprochement efforts between Serbia and Albania. The normalizationof the relations between the two capitals will also contribute to the overall regional peace and stability.

- Recently there was a bloody act in Ankara due to which about 100 innocent lives were lost. There was a worldwide solidarity, including Albania, with your people on this painful occasion. How would you describe the internal political situation in Turkey, do such acts have political coloring and do they have a background on the eve of the elections to be held soon in Turkey?

-First of all, I would like to thank all Albanian authorities sharing our mourning.  Unfortunately, over 100 Turkish citizens were killed by the two terrorist attacks of the DAESH terrorist organization. No doubt, the attacks are against the political stability of Turkey and direct results of the political instability in Syria.

These attacks once again proved the importance of solidarity and unity against international terrorism like in Paris or any other parts of the world.

-Situation in Syria is aggravating, number of people leaving that country is increasing and Turkey is carrying the heaviest burden at these hard times. How do you see the stance of EU with regards to the growth of refugees trying to go there? And do you see any light in the end of this deadly tunnel into what Syria has turned? 

-Following the eruption of the refugee crisis this year in Europe, the relations between Turkey and the EU has accelerated. Being directly influenced by the crisis, the EU and its members understood the seriousness and the depth of the problem in Syria and the burden that Turkey carries related to the migration problem which is the direct result of the protracted war in Syria.

Now, the leaders of the EU countries are very well aware of the importance of Turkey in coping with the migration problem which was the main agenda of Chancellor Angela Merkel during her visit to Turkey on 18 October 2015.

The corpse of baby Aylan Kurdi on the Turkish shores was the symbol of the refugee crisis and resulted in the hot discussions of the issue on the EU platforms.

We are always emphasizing to our partners that we should work together to eliminate the causes creating the phenomenon of migration. We think that without the elimination of the root causes of the problem, taking security measures as the EU proposed with a draft action plan, the people will only fall into human traffickers’ hands. In the first step, creating a humanitarian safe zone inside Syria will prevent the Syrian people from departing to their death journey to Europe.

Because of the war in Syria where over 350,000 people died, Turkey has hosted more than 2 million Syrian people and has spent around 8 billion US Dollars up to now. The contribution of international community in total to the refugees in Turkey is 417 million US Dollars, whereas the EU has contributed only 170 million US Dollars.

From the very outset, we see that the Assad regime itself is the main cause of the chaos, disorder and oppression in Syria. Forming a non-secterian, multicultural, secular and democratic administration is the only way to reestablish stability, order and peace in Syria.