Turkey wants closer ties with Sri Lanka: Foreign minister

By Ayse Yildiz and Veysel Kurt

ANTALYA (AA) – The Turkish foreign minister on Saturday said Turkey wants to develop holistic relations with Asia that has become the center of global economic power.

Inaugurating a new office of Sri Lanka's Antalya Honorary Consulate General in the town of Alanya, Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara desires to promote cooperation with Sri Lanka in fields such as economy, culture, and education.

Emphasizing that honorary consulates play an important role in diplomatic interactions, he recalled that the first Turkish diplomatic contact with Sri Lanka was established in 1864 when the Ottoman Empire opened an honorary consulate.

Turkey was one of the first countries to recognize Sri Lanka following its independence in 1948, he added.

Cavusoglu said bilateral ties have grown stronger since a tsunami rocked Sri Lanka in 2004 and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a visit to the country at the time.

Commenting on financial relations, Cavusoglu said the two countries set a trade target of half a billion dollars, but the figure stood at about $102 million in the first half of 2021.

He suggested, however, that maintaining economic relationships based on a few specialized products would be unsustainable, and that trade ties should be more diverse.

The Turkish diplomat said health and tourism sectors should also be explored and incorporated into relations.

In a Twitter post, Cavusoglu said: "[Turkey] Will further develop our cooperation with friendly Sri Lanka in the framework of our Asia Anew Initiative."

* Writing by Ali Murat Alhas in Ankara