Friday, 3 December 2021, Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia: NRW Premier Hendrik Wüst received the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey, Ahmet Başar Şen, for an inaugural visit to the State Chancellery of NRW after his formal accreditation to Germany that took place on 1 September 2021. He was accompanied by the Turkish Consul General in Düsseldorf, Ayşegül Gökçen Karaarslan.
For the first official part of the visit, Ambassador Ahmet Başar Şen signed the guest book of the state government NRW. In the subsequent conversation, Premier Wüst and Ambassador Şen exchanged views on the bilateral relations between North Rhine-Westphalia and Turkey.
Premier Hendrik Wüst: “Turkey is of particular importance for North Rhine-Westphalia. 60 years after the conclusion of the German-Turkish recruitment agreement, more than 900,000 citizens of Turkish origin have their home here. They are an important part of our identity and contribute to the fact that North Rhine-Westphalia and Turkey are connected in many ways in business, science, civil society and culture. North Rhine-Westphalia therefore also has a great interest in a democratic, economically prosperous Turkey based on the rule of law. We agree that dialogue must be sought, especially on critical issues.”
Relations between North Rhine-Westphalia and Turkey
Approximately 488,000 people of Turkish origin and approximately 934,000 people of Turkish origin live in North Rhine-Westphalia. Of the approximately 1.5 million Turks in Germany, one in three lives in North Rhine-Westphalia.
There are numerous and diverse civil society, economic, scientific and cultural ties between North Rhine-Westphalia and Turkey. For example, Turkey is a priority country in the area of International Youth Exchange of the NRW Child and Youth Promotion Plan. With over 13,000 students in the winter semester 2020/2021, the largest group of foreign students at North Rhine-Westphalian universities comes from Turkey. And there are also many ties between Turkey and North Rhine-Westphalia in the field of business: Almost 40 percent of all Turkish companies in Germany are located in North Rhine-Westphalia.
For further information
Government of North Rhine-Westphalia: https://www.land.nrw/pressemitteilung/ministerpraesident-wuest-empfaengt-den-botschafter-der-republik-tuerkei
Turkish Embassy in Germany (HE Ambassador Ahmet Başar Şen): http://berlin.be.mfa.gov.tr/Mission
