Turkey has so far provided scholarships to 558 Ghanaian students to study in Turkey. The Turkish Ambassador to Ghana, Özlem Ergün Ulueren, disclosed this at the 99th Republic Day anniversary celebration of Turkey in Accra on Monday, October 31.
She said empowering human capital was an important agenda of Turkey’s cooperation with Ghana and it was with that vision in mind that the scholarships were granted.
“We believe in the power of education for transformation and development. Turkiye Maarif Foundation is now expanding its operations in Ghana by moving to a new campus,” she said.
Turkey’s Republic Day
October 29 is celebrated in Turkey as its Republic Day. It marked the creation of the Turkish Republic in 1923. After Turkey’s victory in the War of Independence (1919-1923), the Turkish Parliament proclaimed the new Turkish state as a republic.
A new Constitution, which the Parliament adopted on October 29, 1923, replaced the Constitution of the Ottoman Empire. The leader in the Turkish War of Independence, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, became the country’s first President on the same day. According to Atatürk, Republic Day in Turkey was the most important holiday.
In Accra, the celebration was attended by government and public officials, Turkish nationals and members of the diplomatic corps who had the opportunity to taste some of Turkey’s rich delicacies, music and a video documentary of the country.
Mrs Ulueren disclosed that the presence of African students in universities all over Turkey was ever increasing, with over 15,000 scholarships granted to African students.
She said in line with the vision of the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, African orientation had become one of the strong pillars of Turkish foreign policy.
Diplomatic relations
Touching on the diplomatic relations between Ghana and Turkey, Mrs Ulueren said the two countries had enjoyed a long history of friendship and diplomatic relations dating back to the independence of Ghana.
She explained that bilateral relations between the two countries had gained impetus since the official visit of President Erdogan to the country in 2016.
She said Turkish companies had so far proved their competence in contributing to Ghana’s development efforts and further opportunities were seen in other sectors.
The Deputy Minister of Defence, Kofi Amankwa-Manu, said this year marked the 64th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ghana and Turkey and expressed delight that the relations that started between the two countries in 1958 had been fruitful and mutually beneficial.
He said Ghana valued its relations with Turkey and welcomed the co-operation between them in various fields which had deepened the bond of friendship and cooperation.
He asked Turkish investors, as well as other foreign partners to take advantage of Ghana’s economic position in Africa to tap into the African market.