UPDATE - Turkey's Maarif Foundation to open school in Kyrgyzstan

UPDATE WITH MORE REMARKS BY TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER

By Serife Cetin and Nazli Yuzbasioglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's Maarif Foundation -- founded to replace terrorist-linked schools abroad in the wake of a defeated 2016 coup attempt -- will open in Kyrgyzstan its first school in Central Asia, Turkey's foreign minister announced Wednesday.

"The Maarif school will be the first Maarif Foundation school to open in Central Asia. This is a sign of the importance we place on Kyrgyzstan," Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a joint press conference in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek with his counterpart Ruslan Kazakbaev.

The schools that the Maarif Foundation will replace schools that allegedly had links with the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which Cavusoglu said, is a threat not only for Turkey but also for Kyrgyzstan as well.

For his part, Kazakbaev underlined that Kyrgyzstan and Turkey are two brotherly countries with no political problems between them.

The Turkish government set up the foundation soon after the 2016 defeated coup, orchestrated by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), in order to administer overseas schools linked to FETO.

Over the last five years, the foundation has also established schools and education centers around the world, from Africa to Asia.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup in Turkey, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

FETO also has a considerable presence outside Turkey, including private schools that serve as a revenue stream for the terrorist group.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, including schools, the military, and police.

The two ministers also signed a cooperation protocol between Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Ministry and Turkey's Foreign Ministry for the year 2021, as well as a joint statement.

Cavusoglu said he had been received by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and would meet with Prime Minister Ulugbek Maripov later in the day.

"It's always a great pleasure for us to be in Kyrgyzstan, our friend, brother, fatherland," he said.

Cavusoglu said he had expressed Turkey's satisfaction that the Jan. 10 presidential elections and referendum in Kyrgyzstan were conducted in a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere, congratulating Japarov and the new government.

- Joint Strategic Planning Group, trade

Noting that they had also held a meeting of the Turkish-Kyrgyz Joint Strategic Planning Group, Cavusoglu said:

"The aim of this group is to prepare for the High Level Strategic Council Meeting. We held the fourth summit [the High Level Strategic Council Meeting] in Bishkek, and we would like to hold the fifth summit after the elections in Kyrgyzstan while hosting Mr. President Japarov in Turkey."

On the two countries' bilateral trade volume, which he has not declined despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, Cavusoglu underlined that they served as "an indicator. It is a signal that we can easily reach $1 billion."

In the coming period, he added, it would be "beneficial" to launch negotiations for a preferential trade agreement and sign one "as soon as possible."

"Then, we want to negotiate and sign a comprehensive free trade agreement," he said.

Cavusoglu also asserted that the two countries have always maintained their solidarity, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He emphasized that both countries want to strengthen their cooperation in the field of health, adding that they hoped to open a Kyrgyz-Turkish hospital.

- International cooperation

Cavusoglu also pointed out during the joint news conference that he and Kazakbaev were reviewing their cooperation on international platforms. "We have a close cooperation in all organizations."

Turkey will also support Kyrgyzstan's candidacy for the UN Security Council, he added.

Cavusoglu said that they also discussed the issue of Cyprus and the isolation that the Turkish Cypriots have unjustly suffered, with Kyrgyzstan being one of the most sensitive countries on this issue.

The Cyprus issue remains unresolved despite a series of efforts over the past two decades, including a failed 2017 UN initiative with the participation of the guarantor countries.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was established in 1983 after Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence in 1974 amid ethnic attacks.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan