ANKARA: Turkey's Ambassador to Kuwait Ayse Koytak on Wednesday praised His Highness the late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah as having left behind an invaluable legacy of bilateral relations. Interviewed by Turkey's Anadolu news agency, Koytak said that Turkish-Kuwaiti relations would continue growing during the era of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

She added that the late Amir had given special attention to bilateral relations and had worked with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a sincere and robust mode to promote and upgrade relations, mainly in economic, trade and political domains. She regarded 2017 as an exceptional year as it witnessed five mutual visits at the level of heads of state, three by the Turkish president and two by the late Amir.

The Turkish ambassador added that His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad was keen to attend the urgent meetings of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Istanbul on the issues of Palestine and Jerusalem. She highly commended the late Amir as having greatly contributed to developing relations between Turkey and Kuwait, and to ensuring peace and prosperity in the entire region. The State of Kuwait, under the guidance of the late Amir, became an example to follow in the area of peaceful understanding and wise foreign policy, and a leading country in the efforts of mediation to settle regional conflicts, she noted.

The Turkish diplomat believed that the legacy left behind by the late Amir for Turkish-Kuwaiti ties would continue so intensely during the era of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Speaking highly of trade and tourist bonds, the Turkish ambassador said over 374,000 Kuwaitis visited Turkey last year and more than 10,000 Kuwaitis own properties in Turkey. She finally hoped that a Turkish cultural center would be launched in Kuwait soon in order to give a push to bilateral cultural ties. - KUNA