I watched ‘Narcos’ to learn about fight against drugs: Turkish Deputy PM

MADRID

Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdağ has joked that he watched the popular TV series “Narcos” in order to gain knowledge about the fight against drugs.

“In order to get experience about the subject I watched all three seasons of Narcos in a short period of time, staying up until the early morning,” Akdağ said during a meeting with Turkish citizens in Madrid on Nov. 9, adding that coordinating the struggle against drugs is one of his responsibilities.

Narcos is a popular U.S. crime drama portraying the life of Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar.
Akdağ, who was in Spain to attend a World Health Organization (WHO) conference, was accompanied by Turkish Ambassador to Madrid Ömer Örhon.

He was invited to the WHO conference due to his close links to the organization and his expertise in the medical area, as former health minister, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Akdağ also touched on health services in Turkey, saying the annual average health spending per person is $500 in the country.

“Some $100 of it is paid by people themselves and we [the state] cover the remaining $400. In some European countries, health expenditures per person reach $2,300. However, the services provided by us are nearly the same as theirs and when we describe ours, they become surprised,” he said.

Addressing the struggle with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ), widely believed to have been behind the July 2016 coup attempt, Akdağ urged Turks in Spain to “form their own association.”

“You should all come together and form an association other than PKK separatists and FETÖ members,” he also said.