By Hatice Ozdemir Tosun
ANKARA (AA) - With their Civil Society Dialogue Program, Türkiye and the EU have achieved important projects among civil society groups from both sides, a senior Turkish diplomat said on Monday.
Around 530 projects have been carried out and €70 million ($74.4 million) used in nearly 15 years as part of the Civil Society Program initiated in 2008, Deputy Foreign Minister Faruk Kaymakci said at a closing event.
The closing ceremony of the sixth phase of the Türkiye-EU civil society dialogue program in 2020-2021 and the third phase of Civil Society Support, implemented by the Turkish Foreign Ministry and funded under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA), was held in the coastal city of Antalya.
Addressing the event virtually, Kaymakci, the Foreign Ministry’s top official for EU affairs, also said the communication and interaction of countries increased with the projects carried out among civil societies and that they take care to be inclusive in the projects.
They also paid "strict attention to cover many issues from the environment to agriculture, from employment to culture and fundamental rights," he said, adding that with these projects, they tried to reach every sector of society such as women, children, the disabled, asylum seekers, farmers, and social entrepreneurs.
He also expressed Türkiye's willingness to continue the dialogue and support programs with the support of NGO representatives.
The event boasted a variety of speakers including Bulent Ozcan, the Foreign Ministry's director general of financial cooperation and project implementation for EU affairs, and Andre Etienne Lys, head of financial cooperation at the EU Delegation to Türkiye.
The Civil Society Dialogue Program brings together civil society bodies in both Türkiye and the EU, and it brings EU norms along with good practice examples to Türkiye, which is a candidate for EU accession.