Turkey trained 877 foreign officers, soldiers in 2017

By Zuhal Demirci

ANKARA (AA) - Last year Turkey trained nearly 900 foreign police officers and soldiers under a dedicated project, according to the state’s development aid arm, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA)

TIKA and the Turkish Security Directorate, in order to provide assistance to friendly countries' security forces, founded the International Police Training Cooperation Project in 2007, said TIKA officials.

A total of 877 soldiers and policemen from 19 countries were trained last year. Between 2007 and 2017, 419 courses were offered, mainly in Turkey, training 7,375 police officers from various countries.

The project aims to train police officers and soldiers from Turkey’s friends and allies.

Training started in the pilot countries of Albania and Kyrgyzstan and later expanded to such countries as Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, Palestine, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Macedonia, and Tunisia.

Established in 1992, TIKA is the institution under Turkey’s Prime Ministry responsible for the implementation of development projects and programs in more than 100 countries covering health and humanitarian programs, education, and agriculture.