Türkiye Alumni Gathering organised in North Macedonia

Speaking at the Türkiye Graduates Meeting organised in North Macedonia, YTB President Abdullah Eren said: "Wherever we go in the world, we see that there are communities that are sympathetic to Türkiye and follow Türkiye individually. This is both the biggest gain and the biggest responsibility of Türkiye."

Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) organised the Türkiye Graduates Meeting in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia.

Speaking at the programme, YTB President Abdullah Eren stated that under the leadership of President Erdoğan, our foreign policy has taken a new leap forward in line with the historical-cultural heritage of our country by making use of tools in many different fields such as education and cultural diplomacy, social development assistance as well as classical diplomacy tools. Eren said that recently, institutions such as YTB, Maarif Foundation and Yunus Emre Institute established in Türkiye are the hands of Türkiye reaching out to the geography of the heart.

Explaining that the geography of the heart is a term unique to Türkiye, Eren said, "Wherever we go in the world, we see that there are communities that are sympathetic to Türkiye and follow Türkiye individually. This is both the biggest gain and the biggest responsibility of Türkiye."

Underlining that there are 35 Turkish Alumni Associations in the world, Eren noted that they have organised more than 130 alumni meetings in four years.

Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of İlim Yayma Foundation, pointed out that students from up to 180 countries receive education in Türkiye and said that the number of scholarship students in Turkey exceeded 300 thousand.

Referring to the attacks in Palestine in his speech, Erdoğan stated that human rights were destroyed in the occupied Palestinian territories and that the West trampled on all value paradigms.

Adding that Türkiye provides aid without expecting anything in return, Erdoğan said, "There are many humanitarian aids we provide not only in the geographies where Turks and related communities live abroad, but also in other geographies. Institutions, orphanages, economic development projects are done without expecting anything in return. Türkiye does not do these without expecting anything in return and this is where it differs from the West." Erdoğan wished that the graduates of Türkiye would have a very good place both in North Macedonia and in the region.

Ambassador of Türkiye to Skopje Hasan Mehmet Sekizkök started his speech by wishing God's mercy to our martyred soldiers and condolences to their families and the Turkish nation. Sekizkök stated that encouraging young people to get a good education and prepare for life in North Macedonia and other Balkan countries, where we have deep-rooted historical and human ties, is among Türkiye's priorities.

Ekrem Destanov, Velika Ivkovska and Metin Izeti, graduates of Türkiye, also made speeches during the programme.

The event was attended by YTB President Abdullah Eren, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of İlim Yayma Foundation Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan, President of the Turkish Democratic Party (TDP) in North Macedonia and MP Beycan İlyas, President of the Turkish National Unity Movement (TMBH) Erdoğan Saraç, representatives of Turkish institutions and organisations in the country and Turkish graduates.