Turkey ready to share migration management experience: Çavuşoğlu

GUATEMALA CITY

Ankara is ready to share its experiences of migration management with Central American countries that are dealing with similar situations, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said.

Çavuşoğlu recalled that Turkey has been hosting more than 4 million refugees, mostly Syrians fleeing the ongoing civil war, in his remarks made during a ministerial meeting between Turkey and the Central American Integration System (SICA) in Guatemala on May 21.

“Even though there is no world war, still there are almost 70 million displaced people,” Çavuşoğlu said, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.

“This is one of the major challenges of our world today.”

Turkey’s partners in SICA have been dealing with a refugee crisis as countries of destination or transit countries, Çavuşoğlu said, offering to share Ankara’s experiences in hosting refugees.

“At the regional level we try our best to address the existing crisis. In Syria, for example, we use effective diplomacy in Astana and Geneva to end this long war that has caused tremendous suffering,” he added.

Çavuşoğlu also mentioned Turkey’s cross-border operations to clear an area of 4,000 square kilometers, where fights between the YPG and ISIL militants have taken place, and thereby creating an opportunity for thousands of Syrian civilians to return to their homelands.

Turkey deems YPG as an offshoot of the illegal PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

On her part, Guatemalan Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel said that Turkey’s participation in SICA as an observer in 2015 was a major step.

She stressed the importance of SICA members to continue cooperation with Turkey in health, education, geothermal energy and the renewable energy industries.

SICA Secretary General Vinicio Cerezo said Turkey and SICA have common features and that Ankara is a bridge between Europe and Asia – east and west – while the bloc, consisting of countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador; serves a bridge between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and North and South America.