Germany Exclusive-2

A military ceremony was held at Tegel Airport for the President who was welcomed by Turkey’s Ambassador to Berlin Ahmet Acet and other officials. Prior to the ceremony, military aircraft flew over the ceremonial area to show respect for the President

The plane the Turkish delegation was using was accompanied by German military aircrafts once it entered the German airfield.

GÜL RECEIVES TWO GERMAN JOURNALISTS ARRESTED IN IRAN

President Gül, after the ceremony, received the German journalists at the Ritz Hotel who had been arrested in Iran for the accusation of espionage against Iran and who were later released after his efforts. Marcus Hellwig of the Bild and photo journalist Jens Koch offered their gratitude to President Gül for his effort by thanking him in Turkish. The President said that prior to his visit to Iran he had been informed about their situation by President Wulff.

The journalists recalled that when they heard in the penitentiary in Tabriz that President Gül was to visit Iran, they hoped that he would save them.

BOAT TOUR ON LAKE WANNSEE

The First Couple along with their German counterparts enjoyed the beauty of Lake Wannsee. Afterwards, they walked to Heiland Church, founded in 1844 and they explored the inside of the church which was not used due to the fact that it was located in the ‘forbidden zone’ during the times when Germany was not united. The church, after the reunification of Germany, was restored. It is believed that Heiland Church, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage list, symbolizes the end of an era.

The two Presidents and the First Ladies later visited the Cold War Museum.

SPECIAL DINNER

The First Couple attended a special dinner President Wulff and Mrs. Wulff hosted in their honor at a restaurant in the city of  Kreuzberg called Turkishtown.

TURKISH EXPATRIATES WITH PRESIDENT GÜL

The two Presidents and the First Ladies later met with Turkish people living in Kreuzberg where they were welcomed with ovation by the expatriates.

OFFICIAL WELCOMING CEREMONY AT SCHLOSS BELLEVUE

President Gül and First Lady Hayrünnisa Gül were welcomed with an official ceremony by President Christian Wulff and First Lady Bettina Wulff at the Presidential Palace. After the national anthems were played, President Gül inspected the escort of honor.

AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION AGREEMENT

Afterwards, Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, who is accompanying President Gül on his official visit, and his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schaeuble, signed the Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement between the two countries.

The two Presidents later proceeded to the delegational talks that they chaired.

JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE

President Abdullah Gül and President Christian Wulff held a joint press conference after the delegational talks.

Promulgating that Turkey and Germany are good friends and allies, the President recalled that of the 3 million of the Turkish people in Germany, 1 million bear German citizenship. 

President Gül, evincing his pride in observing that there are a number of distinguished sportsmen, artists, politicians and businessmen of Turkish descent in Germany, said this demonstrates how robust the bilateral relations are between the two countries. 

SATISFIYING LEVEL TURKISH-GERMAN ECONOMIC RELATIONS HAVE REACHED

“What we have focused on today is to carry Turkish-German relations into the future. To achieve this, we should create new visions based upon the old foundations and consolidate and deepen our cooperation in science, technology, arts, culture and education,” said the President who also averred his happiness with the level the bilateral economic relations between the two countries have reached, referring to the nearly 29 billion dollars of trade volume that both countries enjoy today.

“WE ARE TWO HEALTHIEST ECONOMIES OF EUROPE”

The President continued as follows: “We have Europe’s healthiest economies. There are two countries that have achieved the Maastricht criteria in terms of the macroeconomic figures. Both Turkey and Germany’s budget deficit and internal debt are the lowest in Europe. Both countries continue to grow. Turkey grew by 10.2 % in the half of this year, which made it the world’s fastest growing country. These figures are negative in many European countries unfortunately. We hope they gather themselves soon.” 

GÜL VISITS THE NEUE WACHE

After the press conference at the Presidential Palace, President Gül laid a wreath at the Neue Wache, a memorial for the victims of war and tyranny.

GÜL WITH GERMAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER

President Gül later proceeded to the Ritz Carlton Hotel where he received the delegation of the Union of the European Turkish Democrats and he afterwards met with Speaker Norbert Lammert at the Federal Parliament about which he was also informed. The President had a photo taken with the Speaker after signing the guest book.

PRESIDENT GÜL MEETS WITH BERLIN STATE PM

President afterwards walked to the square where the Brandenburg Gate, also known as ‘the Symbol of the United Free Berlin’ is located . The President met with the Berlin Mayor, Klaus Wowereit, who was recently re-elected as State PM as well. The President along with State PM Wowereit walked to the Municipality of Berlin where the former signed the guest book. 

President Gül, as part of his schedule, received German FM Guido Westerwell at the hotel where he was staying.

TURKEY-GERMANY BUSINESS FORUM

President Abdullah Gül and President Christian Wulff attended the Turkey-Germany Business Forum held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel during which they each delivered a speech.

The President, at the beginning of his address, pointed to the importance of being bilingual and suggested that both Turkish and German administrations urge the Turkish community in this regard.

Declaring Turkey and Germany to be historic allies, President Gül said the two countries are one of the few nations that have never fought each other in the world, indicating that the responsibility falling on them is to create new cooperation areas standing on this affirmative and robust ground. The first trade agreement between the two countries were signed in 1840, when 42% of Turkey’s total foreign trade was conducted with Germany, the President informed his audience and he said today, Turkey’s biggest trade partner is the same country again, which he said demonstrates Turkish-German relations are not temporary nor are they conjectural.

TURKEY’S EU MEMBERSHIP

The President further underscored the significance of keeping the promises the EU countries have made regarding the accession negotiation process between Turkey and the EU, saying: “We can discuss the full membership when the time has come. If Turkey is a value for Europe, then the EU countries and their peoples say yes to its admission, if not, we will respect such a decision as well, but slowing down or even ceasing the negotiation process is not an act of sincerity and it offends us indeed.”

ADDRESS AT HUMBOLDT UNIVERSITY

President Abdullah Gül made a speech at Humboldt University within the framework of his program in Germany.

The President commenced his speech by informing his audience that he would have to summarize his speech due to the fact that he was already two hours late because of the bomb warning and that the full text of his speech in German will be put on the webpage of the Presidency.

INEVITABLE ENLARGEMENT OF THE EU

President Gül further underlined the inevitability of the EU enlargement by referring to the first chairman of the European Economic Community, Walter Hallstein, who once said: ‘When you stop pedaling, you fall down.”

The President maintained that an introverted EU, though it is evident that the gravity center of the world will be Asia in 20-30 years, means stopping pedaling. “Turkey is the country that will offer the greatest strategic opportunities in the enlargement process of Europe in terms of the energy sector, population, accessibility to the Caucasus and Central Asia and its great economic potential.”

ARTIFICIAL OBSTACLES IN TURKEY’S WAY TO THE EU

Underscoring the importance of giving an opportunity to Turkey so that it can conclude the negotiation process successfully, the President pointed to the artificial obstacles put in Turkey’s way to the EU.

President Gül commented on the bomb warning at the university that delayed his speech for two hours: “The threats and efforts of some 30-40 people having a connection with the terrorist organization that actually abuses the democratic atmosphere in Germany and my insistence to deliver my speech in return for this and the bomb warning caused my speech to be delivered two hours late. However, let me reiterate that we will not succumb to these people’s threats and shakedown. I do not ever tolerate them. I want them to know that my fellow citizens demonstrate their sympathy to me not to them. They love me not them.

OFFICAL DINNER FOR THE FIRST COUPLE

After their program at Humboldt University, the First Couple attended the official dinner their German counterparts hosted in their honor.

PRESIDENT GÜL MEETS WITH MERKEL OF GERMANY

President Abdullah Gül, on the third day of his official program in Berlin, met with Prime Minister Angela Merkel of Germany at the Prime Ministry. The President was welcomed by PM Merkel in front of the flags of Turkey, Germany and the EU countries upon his arrival at the Prime Ministry. 

THE FIRST COUPLE HOST RECEPTION FOR THE WULFFS

President Abdullah Gül and First Lady Hayrünnisa Gül hosted a reception in honor of President Christian Wulff and German First lady Bettina Wulff at the Axica Congress and Meeting Hall. President Gül, sharing his pleasure to give a reception for the German President and his spouse, declared that the Turkish community is both guest and the host in Germany and it is vice versa for the Germans in Turkey as well and he evinced his gratitude for the German First Couple’s warm hospitality.

THE FIRST LADY VISITS KINDERGARTEN IN BERLIN

Accompanying President Gül on his official visit to Germany, First Lady Hayrünnisa Gül along with German First Lady Bettina Wulff and German Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Kristina Schröder visited Ina Nursery School, where children with disabilities can receive education with their peers. The First Ladies chatted with children for a while who welcomed them with flowers upon their arrival at the school. They also enjoyed the songs the children sang in different languages including Turkish.

Mrs. Gül and Mrs. Wulff later explored the kindergarten and were informed about the co-education project aiming to teach disabled children with others.