New Turkish ambassador presents credentials to Israeli president

Türkiye’s new ambassador to Tel Aviv introduced his letter of credence to the Israeli president.

Ambassador Sakir Ozkan Torunlar was obtained by Isaac Herzog at a ceremony on Wednesday.

After the ceremony, wherein the Turkish National Anthem was performed, Torunlar introduced his credentials to Herzog.

Speaking at a joint press convention with the Turkish envoy, Herzog stated that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s invitation to him for a go to to the Turkish capital was an necessary step taken within the rapprochement course of between each nations.

Underlining that each he and President Erdogan welcome the development in relations between Türkiye and Israel, he stated: “It is no secret that the State of Israel, and I personally, attach great importance to our historical relationship with Türkiye.”

The Israeli president additionally famous that selling ties in tourism, schooling, tradition, vitality, and different fields would deliver prosperity to each nations and their area. 

Invitation to Turkish president

Herzog invited his counterpart Erdogan to Israel throughout his deal with. “I wish (to take) this opportunity as the president of Israel to invite the Turkish president to Israel, which I am certain will contribute to the relations.”

Touching on Türkiye’s regional and worldwide coverage, Herzog stated Türkiye’s affect was seen significantly in its efforts to resolve issues associated to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, together with current prisoner swaps and the Ankara-brokered grain export deal.

For his half, Ambassador Torunlar stated Türkiye-Israel relations had come a great distance by means of current bilateral visits, ensuing within the appointment of ambassadors after greater than 4 years.

“As our President (Erdogan) pointed out, it is our common goal to revive and develop political dialogue between our countries based on mutual interests and on the basis of observing each other’s sensitivities,” Torunlar stated.

He emphasised that because the variety of Türkiye-origin Jewish folks dwelling in Israel approaches 100,000, they represent the strongest bridge between the 2 Mediterranean nations.

Torunlar additionally identified that Ankara, as the primary nation within the area to recognise Israel, was on the identical web page with Tel Aviv on the matter of counter-terrorism.

On the standing of the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, Torunlar pointed to an announcement by the Israeli authorities highlighting the preservation of its established order after a provocative raid by far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir final week.

“I would like to take this opportunity to state that we appreciate the Israeli authorities’ commitment to preserve the status quo of the holy places in Jerusalem, including the Masjid al Aqsa,” he stated.

“As you know, we immediately condemned the terrorist attacks against civilians in Israel last year. Our principled stance is unchanged. Likewise, we believe that Israel will stay away from attitudes that harm Türkiye’s interests,” he famous.

He identified that bilateral commerce has elevated quickly lately and approached the brink of $10 billion, saying that they goal to extend the bilateral commerce quantity to $15 billion in a short while.

Torunlar emphasised that the Turkish administration would work along with the brand new Israeli authorities underneath Benjamin Netanyahu’s premiership in each area and attempt to advance the cooperation between the 2 nations.

Türkiye and Israel took a number of steps in 2022 to enhance their mutual relations.

Herzog’s go to to Ankara in March 2022 was adopted by the go to of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Israel in May. Then-prime minister of Israel, Yair Lapid, additionally visited Türkiye in June.

On August 17, 2022, Türkiye and Israel agreed to revive full diplomatic relations and mutually appoint ambassadors. 

Source: TRTWorld and businesses