YTB Edirne Coordination Office opened
The governor of Edirne H. Kürşat Kırbıyık, in his speech at the ceremony, stated that they started a period in Edirne where they will all undertake much more permanent, long-term, beneficial works together with YTB.
Expressing that the paradigm shift that Türkiye has undergone in the last 20 years, the developments in the region and the progress achieved are very important, Kırbıyık said that in line with the vision drawn by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, all relevant institutions and organizations of the state, YTB, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ambassadors showed great devotion.
Kırbıyık conveyed that they experienced the breakthroughs Türkiye made abroad and the benefits of the way it covered, together in the nearby geography. Kırbıyık stated that many international students also received education in Edirne and emphasized that the interest in Edirne from the Balkan geography is increasing day by day.
Emphasizing the importance of YTB being in Edirne for the city, Governor Kırbıyık said, “It is very important that Edirne and YTB are together. The important thing is after that, we start well. Hopefully, we have to do some important work. I think it will be a time when we will do good works and do good works by sticking together here. Here, we, as the Governorship of Edirne, and our university will make very important contributions.” said.
“We try not to leave our citizens alone”
YTB President Abdullah Eren also expressed his satisfaction with the opening of YTB's Edirne Coordination Office. Reminding that as YTB, they carry out activities for citizens living abroad, kinship related communities and international students, Eren said that the emergence of YTB is part of a great strategy.
Explaining that Türkiye has made a breakthrough in terms of a paradigm shift in foreign policy under the leadership of President Erdoğan in the last 20 years, Eren noted that in this process, they learned that in order to become a great state and a global actor, it is necessary not to leave certain areas blank.
Stating that as YTB, they try to work with the motto "Wherever we have a citizen, we are there" within the framework of the vision drawn by Erdoğan, Eren said, "We try not to leave our citizens abroad alone. We try to indicate that we stand by them with a human-oriented approach. In this context, Edirne is very important for us.” said.
Pointing out that Edirne was the first city that said "welcome" to citizens from abroad when they came to Türkiye, and said "goodbye" when they were leaving, Eren said:
“We strive to be with our people on their journey. We always wanted to be a little closer physically while carrying out the activities for the Balkans. We also know that since Edirne is a Balkan city, many Turks and their relatives come and go very often from the Balkans. There are many students at the university. Culturally, Edirne is a city that we can call the capital of the Balkans.
We thought it would be beneficial to have YTB in such a city. Hopefully, we want to cooperate with the Balkan geography through our Edirne office in a much more efficient way. We also provide scholarships to international students. Currently, we have 16 thousand international students in Türkiye. We have students from all over the world.
Considering that there is a very serious student mobility in Edirne, we are much more convinced that we should be in Edirne in order to contact these brothers more closely.”
Eren stated that Türkiye is an element of stability not only for Türkiye but also for its close geography, with the work it has done, and that the Balkans comes first. After the speeches, YTB Edirne Office was opened.
The ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Equal Opportunity Commission of Turkish General Assembly and AK Party Edirne Deputy Fatma Aksal, Trükiye's Ambassador to Sofia Aylin Sekizkök, Trakya University Rector Prof. Dr. Erhan Tabakoğlu, Edirne Police Chief Mustafa Alçalar, Edirne Gendarmerie Commander Colonel Taşkın Keleş, AK Party Edirne Provincial President Belgin İba, MHP Edirne Provincial President Zakir Tercan, YTB Deputy President Sait Yusuf, YTB Edirne Representative Fatih Ot, Xanthi Elected Mufti Mustafa Trampa, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Turkish Minority of Western Thrace and Komotini Elected Mufti İbrahim Şerif, representatives of non-governmental organizations from Western Thrace, directors of institutions and YTB officials attended.
