The Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy attended the 11th Ambassadors Conference, stating “As Ministry of Culture and Tourism, we shall continue representing Turkey to the whole world in the strongest manner”.

The dinner held at a hotel in Ankara for 11^th Ambassadors Conference was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy. Speaking at the dinner following the speech of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jordan, Ayman Safadi, Minister Ersoy stated that shouldering the responsibility of representing a country is very arduous and extremely delicate task, and added “If the country that you are representing is country such as Turkey, a country with an ancient history, unique cultural richness –an agenda setting country with the strategic importance it holds in its geography and with a voice in the world politics,– then the challenges and responsibilities increase incrementally. I would like express my gratitude to our ambassadors and all our employees in embassies who work within a hectic schedule to duly perform such a task and to duly represent the nation and the state.”

Minister Ersoy, explaining that with the implementation of the Presidential System, the policies of Turkey are realized at a great pace and intensity, said “Under the leadership of our President of the Republic, the burden of bureaucracy is brought to a minimum level in the implementation of our policies that are always produced by putting the people at its center and with the principles of equality and justice. This created a great advantage not just for the steps we take, but also in intervening in the steps taken against us, especially in transforming the manipulations towards our perception into a positive one. Thereby, the toils of our ministers and their teams brought an immense change to the perception of Turkey by the international community. No doubt, you, as our ambassadors, were on the fronts of this unfaltering struggle that brought about this change and performed very important tasks for which we are grateful.”

Minister Ersoy noted that as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, they are just one of the institutions that are tasked with the responsibility of strengthening the positive perception of security created by President of the Republic, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and by the ministries, and that they are also tasked with turning this perception in to a gain for Turkey. Minister Ersoy also declared “We are performing on this responsibility with our minute work in every area, by representing the unmatched richness of Turkey through a strong promotion of its culture, nature, archeology and gastronomy, in order to spring to the upper league that we justly deserve– the leader’s league in the tourism area. Meanwhile, we toil heavily to bring Turkey to a level of a country renown with its arts, primarily in the sector of cinema and TV series sector, both by the projects and productions on a worldwide-scale and by several organizations and activities.”

"As a Ministry, for us, our ambassadors are two-way sources of information.”

Highlighting their efforts in presenting all forms of beauty that tourists seek in the most assertive manner and with the privilege that suits Turkey, Minister Ersoy spoke thusly: “Therefore, we must both understand our audience really well and we must express ourselves really well.  Here at this point, our ambassadors provide us with great benefits, acting out as our voice, eyes and ears. As Ministry, for us, our ambassadors are two-way sources of information. You are the representatives of the culture and the values of Turkish nation. Since you possess comprehensive knowledge of the culture and the values of the countries and societies that you work in, you are exceptional individuals with your knowledge and experience in these matter. Your equipping that render you a window of culture that opens both ways are, as a ministry, our biggest security and our most sound foundation in realizing our international promotions, organizations and activities.

Underlining the great parallels between the responsibilities of the embassies and of organizations such as the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), Yunus Emre Institute (YEE) and the General Directorate of Foundations, Minister Ersoy said, “These organizations that hold a great role in realization of the people-oriented policies of Turkey, in protection of the rights of our citizens abroad and meeting their needs and  in promotion and teaching of our language, culture and values, are the active figures of public diplomacy. With the implementation of Presidential System, the cultural, humanitarian and developmental diplomacy activities of our country were brought together under the roof our Ministry of Culture and Tourism, thereby, a coordination mechanism was established between the institutions that perform the public diplomacy activities of our country.”

Stating that with the cooperation of institutions and experience-sharing, the compatibility of the efforts with the multi-dimensional foreign policy is achieved and with that, the basis for more efficient activities was established, Minister Ersoy told: “When we just take a look at the activities of TİKA within the very last year, we see more than a thousand five hundred projects and activities in several different sectors, from health to education, at 120 countries. And the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities continue their activities directed towards our citizens abroad with their numbers that surpass 6.5 million, to sister communities and international students. Also, our Presidency have realized 97 projects and activities at home and abroad just within the last 1 year, under the headings of academic and cultural guidance with Türkiye Scholarships. The financial cost of these activities as projects and direct financial support amount to 140 million liras. Just within this last year, Yunus Emre Institute has completed 821 activities in 52 countries and 65 cities, in 25 different areas. During the process, 43 Turkologists were assigned to 23 universities and 10,545 students at 194 schools were provided with education in Turkish. Also, our institute has added Madrid, Melbourne, Seoul and Dublin to its fields of activity within the period of 2018-2019. Our General Directorate of Foundations continue its activities on behalf of 52 thousand foundations formed at the periods of Seljuk and Ottomans. Until this day, 5,250 works of arts were restored. We already have 40 on-going efforts in an immense geography extending from Montenegro to Cyprus, from Serbia to Crimea and from Macedonia to Yemen. Our Ministry organization has great impact and achieves great success under every heading of public diplomacy, from perception management to cultural dialogue, from spreading the correct information to directing the foreign policies and shaping the country’s image, with the established international communications and relations built through these activities.”

“We have created a very strong and positive perception in Europe with the projects and promotions for tourism”

Underlining the great importance of culture and tourism in Turkey’s international relations for developing and strengthening the ties between the countries, Minister Ersoy declared: “Increasing the recognition of Turkey and popularizing and adopting the perception of Turkey as the great, strong and leader country that is our common vision, culture and tourism holds great importance in Turkey’s international relations and in developing and strengthening the ties between other countries and Turkey. As a Ministry, I would like to express our satisfaction in creating a very strong and positive perception in Europe with the projects and promotions for tourism. However, we defy an understanding that deems these as adequate. With the recently changed and renewed tourism mentality, we must be involved with an intense promotional, touristic and cultural activity in order to continue the success we have achieved in every corner of the world, in Middle-Eastern and Arab geographies and especially in Asia and Europe. On the occasion of the centenary of the Dardanelles Campaign, we have celebrated the year 2015 as the “Turkey-Australia Culture Year.” Within the scope of the 2017 Turkey-Korea Culture year, we have realized more than 20 events in the areas of culture, arts and tourism.”

Noting that they have promoted Turkey’s culture and its many values with open and closed-area events, Minister Ersoy told: “Along with these, we have organized corresponding culture-tourism days and yearly events with Kazakhstan, Belarus, Turkmenistan and Palestine within the period of June 2017-June 2018. Within the same period, we have signed cooperation agreements, memorandum of understandings, cooperation programs and action plan protocols in the areas of culture and tourism with Poland, Russia, Belarus, Republic of Kosovo, Qatar, Sudan, Algeria, Mauretania, Portugal, Russian Federation and England. We also continue our activities within the scope of the ‘Cultural Exchange Program for 2017-2020’ signed at New Delhi on May 1, 2017. Declaring the year 2018 as the “Turkey Tourism Year in China” was very important in ensuring many more tourists from China –our one of the most important target markets in Asia region– to visit our country and at the same time introduce our culture. We have organized 50 events in 6 important cities of China, in which more than 200 artists and personnel were assigned.”

Declaring they have organized 14 hospitality programs that included the accommodation of the Minister of Culture and Tourism of People’s Republic of China, representatives of media and travel sector, and especially social media celebrities, Minister Ersoy said: “We have organized concerts, ballets, photograph exhibitions and activities towards children with more than 80 artists within the scope of “2018 Turkey-Thailand Culture Year”. In 2019, we celebrate ‘Turkish Culture Year in Japan’ and ‘Turkey-Russia Culture and Tourism Year,’ and our activities continue. The openings that we have made with Her Highness Princess Akiko Mikasa in Japan, and with my esteemed counterpart in Russia, Vladimir Medinsky received really great interest. Our activities that began in Japan with the 'Treasures and Tradition of Tulip in Ottoman Empire’ exhibition and the ‘Troy’ opera at the Bolshoi stage in Russia will continue until the end of the year with many different arts and culture events.”

Cooperation in Culture and Tourism

Underlining that they have signed several memoranda of understanding within the area of culture and tourism, Minister Ersoy stated: “In 2019, we have organized Culture Days of Turkmenistan events in Turkey. We continue to plan organizing Culture Days of Uzbekistan events within the months of October or November. We will continue to organize reciprocal culture days with the countries in the Central Asia Region. We maintain our efforts in culture and tourism on behalf of Turkey at each corner of the world with the same intensity and seriousness. In this context, we have signed memorandum of understanding, cooperation programs and action plan protocols in the areas of culture and tourism with Zambia, Suriname, Cambodia, Slovakia, Croatia, Cuba, Chad, Belarus and Ruanda. Of course, the development of relations between states and mutual interaction of the relevant political institutions is extremely important. Nevertheless, we also have to build an awareness within the minds of the people of those countries.”

Stating “Creating a public opinion that listens to us with our own words, that actively research Turkey, not just through outside influence and in a passive manner, and that offers sincere support is a serious achievement,” Minister Ersoy also noted that: “I feel extremely glad in observing that our activities as a ministry have achieved this success. Look, just within the few months of the day we commenced our activities for “2019 Turkish Culture Year in Japan”, we have observed that the most queried country on the internet by the Japanese people in 2019 was Turkey. As in Japan, we continue the “Reciprocal Culture and Tourism Year” events in Russia and the present number of tourists clearly lays bare that a significant success has been achieved. Even when we just take look at the last 1-year period, the activities that we have realized, the international organizations that we are a stakeholder of, all of these show the activity of Turkey in the areas of culture and tourism.”

“We have completed the ‘Development of Winter Tourism Corridor in Erzurum, Erzincan and Kars Project’ prepared in collaboration with EU by the end of Fall 2018”

Minister Ersoy noted that they have hosted many bureaucrats with the realized programs, and said “At the “3^rd 3rd UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture” held at Lütfi Kırdar Congress and Exhibition Palace in Istanbul, between the dates December 3-5, 2018, we have hosted more than 600 guests that included Ministers and Deputy Ministers of 33 countries. As the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities, we have organized ‘European Sports and Culture Festival’ in the city of Hamm in Germany in between June 28-30, 2019 with the cooperation of Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Municipality of Hamm. By the partnership with Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC) International Permanent Secretariat and with the participation of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), we have organized an international seminar on theme ‘How to More Effectively Attract Chinese and Indian Tourists to the BSEC Region’. We have completed the ‘Development of Winter Tourism Corridor in Erzurum, Erzincan and Kars Project’ prepared in collaboration with EU by the end of Fall 2018. And since January 1, 2019, we have entered into a sustainability period that will cover 5 years.”

“In order to preserve the Anatolian geography and its ancient cultural richness and add it to tourism, we for the first time have commenced in Gaziantep “the EU-Turkey Anatolian Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Institute Project”

Reminding that they will continue the expansion of the transportation attempt towards the most tourist sending countries to Turkey with Turkish Airlines in a manner that will encompass all destinations and periods, Minister Ersoy noted that “In order to preserve the Anatolian geography and its ancient cultural richness and add it to tourism, we for the first time have commenced in Gaziantep “the EU-Turkey Anatolian Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Institute Project”. Again, for the first time in the history of the Republic, we organized on the presidential level a groundbreaking ceremony of “St. Ephrem Syriac Orthodox Church” graced with the presence of our President of the Republic. Opening our arms to all the richness and colors of this country, we have set a very solid foundation for our unity and solidarity and for our future. The sense of security and the determination to work provided by the Turkey vision of our President of the Republic brings forth the results that facilitate all of our activities, pave our ways and broaden our horizons.”

“As Ministry of Culture and Tourism, we shall continue representing Turkey to the whole world in the strongest manner.”

Reminding that since May 28, 2019, Turkey is a member of the Executive Council of World Tourism Organization, Minister Ersoy continued, “As Ministry of Culture and Tourism, we shall continue representing Turkey to the whole world in the strongest manner. The important role of the task that our ambassadors perform in Turkey’s foreign policy is obvious. In particular, your efforts are extremely important and valuable for our Ministry. All of us endeavor to reach a common goal in our respective fields of duty. This goal is the welfare, peace and security of our venerable people. This goal is the strong, fully independent and leader Turkey. We are the cogs of the state mechanism that shall enable our nation and country to attain this grand ideal. The more we work in harmony, the closer, absolute and permanent success shall be.”

In addition, Minister Ersoy informed that the Tourism Development Fund is approved and gave the good news that the fund will enter into force about September or October.