Hosgeldiniz Erdogan!

Last Monday evening President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey landed in Accra for a two-day official visit, reciprocating a similar one by his Ghanaian counterpart earlier.

One of the features of the visit is a joint sod-cutting activity for the construction of the new terminal at the Kotoka International Airport – a project being undertaken by a Turkish company.

Such high-profile visits are important diplomatic activities which go a long way in cementing the bond of friendship between nations and indirectly enhancing world peace.

Many important landmark investment breakthroughs have often come through such interactions across the world. The decision of the Turkish President to have over a dozen businessmen join his entourage for the trip is definitely to enable the two parties to explore business opportunities.

The growing importance of Turkey in international politics cannot be overlooked; it is against this backdrop that such visits should be viewed for their strategic worth.

The world continues to be globalised by the day hence, the need for such visits to be undertaken by the political leaderships of the two countries on bilateral basis: bountiful dividends from international trade abound in such visits if they are managed properly and sincerely. The cancellation or reduction of business-inhibiting tariffs has often been occasioned by visits of this caliber.

International trade is underpinned by the successful interfacing between political leaderships of various countries. The visit of President Erdogan is therefore an opportunity which should be seized by the local business community with a view to establishing individual linkages between them and their Turkish counterparts.

Being a country spanning Europe and Asia, Turkey offers a variety of business opportunities, the almost daily direct flight to Istanbul offering an added impetus waiting to be exploited.

. There are already many Turkish businesses in Ghana, their contributions towards the development of the country certainly documented by the Trade Ministry and the Ghana Investment Centre.

The Turkish Development Cooperation (TUDEC), an organization which encourages Turkish businesses with the necessary information and support to pitch camp in Ghana, cannot be overlooked.

TUDEC has sponsored many trips to Turkey for Ghanaians from both government and private sector visits which have enlightened beneficiaries about developments and opportunities in that country. The Galaxy International Schools, Turkish owned educational establishments, continue to contribute towards the development of world-class education in the country.

Many Ghanaians have benefitted and continue to do so, from Turkish government scholarships both at undergraduate and graduate levels over the years.

Mention was made recently about a Ghanaian student studying Physics at the Masters level in the Turkish language in a Turkish tertiary institution.

There are medical doctors who were trained in Turkey, others still undertaking their courses in the many Turkish institutions of higher learning.

Three Turkish non-governmental organizations are building the National Mosque at Kanda in Accra, gratis, after the project suffered a near stalling for lack of funds.

The unrivalled Islamic architecture represented by the new mosque is a special addition to the skyline of Accra – a piece of Istanbul in Ghana we can say. The credit goes to Turkey whose mastery of Islamic architecture is world acclaimed.

We wish President Erdogan a fruitful visit, one that would benefit both countries.