On Friday 23 September, the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, Mehmet Simsek, was in Luxembourg on an official visit.
During his visit, Deputy Prime Minister Simsek was received by Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Etienne Schneider, before meeting Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, at the Hotel St Maximin for bilateral talks.
During the first meeting with Minister Schneider, they discussed the political situation in Turkey following the attempted state coup last July. Other topics touched on bilateral economic relations between the two countries, particularly in the areas of logistics, ICT and finance. It was agreed to organise during the first quarter 2017 a meeting of the 'Joint Economic and Trade Commission" (JETCO) in Turkey, to underline the importance that both countries attach to the continued development of their trade relations.
Discussions with Minister Asselborn addressed bilateral relations, before also addressing the difficult situation in Turkey at present. Recognising that the aborted coup had greatly affected the population of Turkey, Minister Asselborn reiterated the condemnation of the attempted coup, before urging the Turkish Minister on the need to find adequate answers and proportional to the coup attempt, in compliance with the European Convention on human rights and the principles and values upheld by the Council of Europe. Minister Asselborn stressed the importance of maintaining open channels of dialogue at all levels and to act constructively with critical partners.
The ministers also discussed the relations between the EU and Turkey, including addressing the issues of migration, security and the fight against terrorism. The meeting also enabled an overview of regional and international politics.
Photo by MECO (L-R): Mehmet Simsek, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey; Etienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg
