Day: November 28, 2022

Countries that depend on wheat imports are able to feed themselves thanks to the accord, Badara Joof told Anadolu Agency during 8th World Halal summit and 9th Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Halal Expo, which the news agency is serving as global communications partner.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed the agreement in Istanbul on July 22 to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February.

So far, some 12 million tons of grain were delivered via ships through the grain corridor thanks to the agreement.

“That is a very huge humanitarian gesture and only a strong leader with strong foresight … with a humanitarian feeling would do those things,” Joof said.

“Your president (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) did very well for the world, when he mediated, he did not mediate only for Turkey, Ukraine, and Russia but for the rest of the world.”

On the expo, he emphasized that Gambia has the potential for greater agricultural production but lacks the capital and technology, making the expo an opportunity to find investors.

“I think we can become self-sufficient in food and also have food security, the future of the West African sub-region does not lie in the barrel of the AK-47,” he said.

The province needs strong policies, strong institutions, a vibrant democratic process that allows the space for people’s participation, reorientation and recalibration of the armies, he added.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Speaking to a group of reporters in Ankara, Mevlut Cavusoglu said: “Political consultations between deputy ministers could be rescheduled soon. An ambassador might be appointed in the coming months.”

On NATO accession bids of Sweden and Finland, Cavusoglu said he will hold some bilateral meetings on the sidelines of Tuesday’s NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in the Romanian capital Bucharest.

“We will meet with German Foreign Minister (Annalena) Baerbock and British Foreign Secretary (James) Cleverly. We will also meet with the Swedish and Finnish foreign ministers in Bucharest tomorrow in a tripartite format,” Cavusoglu announced.

Sweden and Finland are yet to take “concrete steps” in under the trilateral memorandum, the Turkish minister said, noting that Sweden is the country that needs to take more steps.

The trio signed a memorandum June 28 at the NATO summit in Madrid to address Ankara’s legitimate security concerns, paving the way for NATO membership of Finland and Sweden.

The aim of the meeting was to ensure the implementation of commitments in the memorandum.

Finland and Sweden extend their full support to Türkiye against threats to its national security, according to the memorandum. To that effect, Helsinki and Stockholm will not provide support to terror groups YPG/PYD and FETO.

Asked about the possibility of a process — similar to Egypt — with Syria, Cavusoglu stressed that Türkiye’s main goal is to end the civil war in Syria.

“We are continuing the process with the (Syrian) opposition. The opposition is also participating in the Astana talks along with the Assad regime,” he said, adding that Türkiye aims to also “revive the political process, including the constitutional negotiations.”

“This is part of the engagement. Progress must be made by the Constitutional Committee. But there is no progress there,” he added.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The image shows Hassan wearing a camouflage suit, with a symbol used by the PKK/YPG terrorist organization in the background

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office continues its investigation into the attack on Istiklal Avenue which killed at least six people and left 81 injured.

A total of 59 suspects have been taken into custody, 24 of whom are under arrest as part of the investigation.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on Sunday said Hassan’s brother had been nabbed by the security forces.

Source: Anadolu Agency

“During his arrest, he was beaten and kicked by the police. This happened while he was working as an accredited journalist,” it said in a statement.

“It is very worrying that one of our journalists was attacked in this way whilst carrying out his duties. We have had no official explanation or apology from the Chinese authorities, beyond a claim by the officials who later released him (saying) that they had arrested him for his own good in case he caught Covid from the crowd. We do not consider this a credible explanation,” the statement continued.

Lawrence thanked BBC for its “kind words and messages of concern” in a tweet and said: “I understand at least one local national was arrested after trying to stop the police from beating me.”

UK’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also condemned the treatment of Chinese officials by calling it “deeply disturbing.”

“Media freedom and freedom to protest must be respected. No country is exempt. The arrest of BBC journalist @EP_Lawrence in China is deeply disturbing,” Cleverly said on Twitter. “Journalists must be able to do their job without intimidation.”

China’s Foreign Ministry claimed that Lawrence did not identify himself as a journalist during his arrest.

“Based on what we learned from relevant Shanghai authorities, he did not identify himself as a journalist and did not voluntarily present his press credentials,” the ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a briefing on Monday.

Zhao added that foreign journalists are “always welcome to work” in the country in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations.

Source: Anadolu Agency