Santo Domingo.- The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlüt ÇavuŞoglu, said during his recent visit to the country that his government values the relationship with the Dominican Republic, which is “open to capital investment and to contribute to the development of relationships”.

“President Erdogan wishes to collaborate with the Dominican Republic in the economic, cultural, commercial, and social fields”, said the Turkish official during an interview with journalist Dashira Martinez.

ÇavuŞoglu confirmed that they are willing to work together with the new authorities in strengthening relations between both countries.

When referring to the management of COVID-19 in his country, he explained that, although it is a global challenge, “we must all act together and that precisely the countries with more resources must support those with fewer resources.”

He recalled that the Turkish government recently provided aid to the Dominican government for some supplies to combat this pandemic and pointed out that they are manufacturing high-tech fans to be able to meet the great demand at the international level.

Below is a full interview with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu for El Caribe, by journalist Dashira Martínez. 

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First of all, I appreciate the opportunity to interview you. It is an honor for me.

How important is it for the Turkish government to join our country amid the sworn of President Luis Abinader.

Thanks for this opportunity and for the question. We highly value our relationship with the Dominican Republic and we are open to capital investment and to contribute to the development of relationships. This is my second visit to the Dominican Republic, about two years ago was my first time.

During that visit, we discussed cooperation between both nations. In Turkey, we have opened a policy for Latin America and it has been very successful. The Dominican Republic is one of our most important allies.

I am very pleased with the election of President Luis Abinader, it is a personal friend, it is an honor to be his friend, he invited me to this inauguration, and today I have the honor to represent the President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. I am very happy to hear the vision of the new President and I am glad to see his dedication to the country.

It is also a way to show what is on the way and the policies that the new government hold is truly impressive. I am sure that cooperation and common projects will be very good and Turkey can contribute a lot. 

Turkish companies are already in this country, and more can probably come for investment in other projects, that is what we want. Today in the inauguration I have had the opportunity to meet the new officials of the government and other international guests, including the Secretary of State from the United States Mike Pompeo.

Does Turkey have any short or medium-term projects to strengthen relations with the Dominican Republic?

Yes, and today we are discussing tourism, which is extremely important to us, as last year we received 52 million tourists in Turkey because we have the best facilities.

A great investment company of tourism here in the Dominican Republic is going to finish a project in four years, and it will generate approximately 10 thousand jobs, as just like this one, there are several.

This country has many projects underway and new under construction. There are big opportunities in different sectors as well.

In other areas, several projects of interest can be developed. This afternoon I am going to hold a meeting with President Luis Abinader to talk about all these future projects that we can do together. And of course, this is not the first or last meeting between us and our government is fully established here with its own representatives.

Of course, we need to sign agreements, verify legal bases of cooperation, many are of cooperation and mutual protection and promotion of countries, avoiding double appraisal, and we must continue to work for the future.

You recently stated that we must all act together in the face of global challenges and that global problems require solutions global, how can we face this pandemic together?

Indeed, this is a global challenge. When it comes to global challenges we have to act altogether. That means complete solidarity. Multilateralism is more important than ever.

We need to have this mutual help and the countries that have less development or capacity, they must have countries that have more resources and are more equipped.

Turkey has one of the best health infrastructures in the world. We have fought this pandemic and have been very effective, and we have excellent hospitals. A great job has been done, but in the meantime, we have delivered medical equipment and personal protective equipment to 145 out of 193 countries registered with the United Nations. We’ll soon supply everyone including the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and other countries in Latin America and the United States.

It is a common challenge that we must all face together. We have been working on the subject through conferences, the ministries, and sharing experiences with other countries that have been facing the same thing. We must also work in the post-COVID-19 era and we must see how we can work in this sense whether in globalization or regionalization. Nevertheless, it is a combination of everything. We have published books on this as well.

Do you have a message from President Erdogan for our country?

Yes, we bring a message from President Erdogan. First of all, a sincere congratulations to Luis Abinader, the young new President of the Dominican Republic and we look forward to working more closely and strengthen relations between the Dominican Republic and Turkey, with the leadership of our president and the members of this new government.

As a result of Covid-19, our country sent medicines and medical aid to the Dominican Republic. By order of our president Erdogan, the sending of more materials was added for the fight against Covid-19, including fans, and we will continue helping in this aspect.

But in addition to this, President Erdogan wishes to collaborate with the Dominican Republic in the economic, cultural, commercial, and social fields and for this reason, we have received orders so that, as Minister of Foreign Relations Foreign, we work together with the new authorities, our new friends, in strengthening relations between both countries.

President Erdogan takes this opportunity to send our greetings to the Dominican people, wishing them the best.

Thank you very much!