RIYADH: ABDUL HANNAN TAGO
Saturday 8 December 2012
Turkey is planning to exempt 50 countries from visa entry, which is already applied to many Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, as part of the government’s ambitious policy to open Turkey to the Islamic world.
Kamil Eren, Turkish businessman and former chairman of the Saudi-Turkish Business Council, disclosed this to Arab News. He said Turkey has one of the highest growing economies in the World and would like to leverage its strength on the model of Davos.
Eren, who is also on the executive committee of the Bosphorus Summit, said Turkey will set up an alternative to Davos economic summit. The Bosphorus Summit will be held in Turkey within a few weeks and some 2,000 people will participate, including the Saudi minister of agriculture.
Eren, who owns companies that employ Saudis said the Turkish economy ranks 15th now in the world.
For this reason Turkey will open up to all Islamic countries and to this region by waiving the visa requirement for many countries such as Jordan, Libya and Lebanon and Russia.
This will also boost tourism since there are many flights from Atatürk Airport. Istanbul is also connected to more than 90 countries and 200 cities and lies at the center of Asia. Europe and Africa. Istanbul is the most attractive city with historical sites, Bosphorus, amusement parks, landscape, hotels, and restaurants. Istanbul has the best hospitals in the region specialized in every field.
Istanbul has over 50 universities (Istanbul Technical University, Bosphorus University, Istanbul University, etc.). More than 10 million tourists visit Istanbul every year.