The strengthening partnership between Turkey and Poland will guarantee peace and prosperity in the region, Turkey's foreign minister said in an article released on Monday.
"Today, the determined will to further develop our relations, our strong alliance ties, and the common values we share are the pillars of our strategic partnership," Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu wrote in an opinion article for Polish daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
Underlining the deep historical roots of Turkish-Polish ties going as far back as 600 years, Çavuşoğlu said: "Our diplomatic relations started with the delegation sent by King Wladyslaw Jagiello II to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet I in 1414. Our ancestors always supported the independence and territorial integrity of Poland."
"They did not even hesitate to go to war for this cause. The same tradition continued in the republican period (of Turkey). Turkey did not recognize the occupation of Poland during World War II," he added.
Çavuşoğlu said Warsaw had also acted similarly towards Turkey, siding with the country during the difficult years after World War I and becoming the first nation in Europe to sign a friendship treaty with Ankara.
"Today, the determined will to further develop our relations, our strong alliance ties and the common values we share are the pillars of our strategic partnership," Çavuşoğlu said.
He highlighted that five agreements signed during a visit by Polish President Andrzej Duda's to Turkey in May gave a new impetus to bilateral relations and deepened the countries' strategic partnership.
Çavuşoğlu said their bilateral trade volume, which is expected to exceed $8 billion this year, will soon reach their $10 billion target.
"We also attach importance to increasing mutual investments," he said, adding that Turkey also seeks to increase tourism from Poland in the next few years to 1.5 million visits.
"Our strengthening and deepening partnership will also be the guarantor of peace and prosperity in our region," he added.
Noting that Poland is one of the most preferred Erasmus+ Program countries for Turkish students, Çavuşoğlu said: "We see student and lecturer exchange programs as the most important investment in the future of our relations."
RELATIONS WITHIN NATO
Underlining the importance of allied relations within NATO, Çavuşoğlu said that Turkish F-16 fighter jets deployed at Malbork base as part of NATO's air policing efforts and the maritime patrol aircraft sent by Poland under NATO's Tailored Assurance Measures mission in Turkey were the best examples of solidarity between the countries.
This cooperation continues under the Turkey-Poland-Romania Trilateral Cooperation with Romania's inclusion, he said, highlighting the countries' intention to further develop this initiative at the level of foreign ministers.
The foreign minister also said Turkey appreciates Warsaw's support for Turkey's EU accession efforts.
"In this context, Turkey and Poland's joint membership of all Euro-Atlantic institutions, in other words, Turkey's EU membership, will make a meaningful contribution to the stability, security and prosperity of this geo-strategic region and beyond."
