Article by Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu titled “Türkiye-Rwanda Enjoy Excellent Relations”, 12 January 2023, Rwanda Article by Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu titled “Türkiye-Zimbabwe : A growing partnership” published in the Herald, 11 January 2023, Zimbabwe Article by Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu titled “A bright future for Turkey-South Africa cooperation“ published in Pretoria News and IOL, 10 January 2023, The Republic of South Africa Article by Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu titled ''We still have time to construct a peaceful future'' published on the occasion of Bled Strategic Forum, 29 August 2022 Article by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published in New Straits Times, 4 August 2022 Article by Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu titled ''Terrorism has no nationality, ethnicity nor religion. FETO threatens humanity as a whole'' on the occasion of July 15 Coup Attempt, 15 July 2022 Article by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published in Lidové Noviny, 7 June 2022 Article by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published on the occasion of 25 May Africa Day Article by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published in La Estrella de Panamá, 28 April 2022 Article by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published in El Telégrafo Ecuador, 26 April 2022 Article by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published in Brasilian newspaper “Folha De S.Paulo”, 25 April 2022 Article by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published in Sri Lankan newspaper titled ''Time to Work for a New Impetus in Türkiye-Sri Lanka Relations'', 28 January 2022 Article by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Published in Khaleej Times, 11 February 2022 Article by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu titled “Why Should We Fight Against FETO Resolutely?”, 15 July 2021 Article by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published on the occasion of 25 May Africa Day Article by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu titled “Our Preference in Eastern Mediterranean is Diplomacy without Preconditions” published in Kathimerini, 15 September 2020 Article by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu titled “We Face a New-Generation Terrorist Group” published in Daily Sabah, 16 July 2020 Article by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu titled “EU-Türkiye relations are strained but we have common ground to build on” published in Politico, 13 July 2020 Article by H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu titled ''Union With Africa Is Now More Essential Than Ever'' published on various African media outlets on the occasion of the Day of Africa, 25 May 2020 Article by H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published in The Washington Times titled “What We Do Today Will Define Tomorrow”, 2 April 2020 Article by H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published in the Financial Times titled 'EU inaction on Syrian refugees is a stain on human conscience', 22 March 2020 Article by H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published in Bild titled “Europe Should Finally Wake Up From Its Long Sleep”, 5 March 2020 Article by H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published in The New York Times titled “Why Türkiye Took the Fight to Syria”, 11 October 2019 Article by H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, published in “Kıbrıs Postası” on 14 July 2019 Article by H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published in Politico Europe titled “Let’s put Türkiye’s EU membership back on track”, 14 May 2019 Article by H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published in The Washington Times titled “One for all, all for one in challenging times”, 4 April 2019 Article by H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu titled “Seeking Peace Needs an Enterprising Foreign Policy”, published on the occasion of the Second OIC Member States Conference on Mediation and the Fifth Istanbul Mediation Conference, 29 November 2018 Article by H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published in The Washington Post titled “The U.S. must stop arming terrorists in Syria”, 28 September 2018 Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu’s op-ed published in “USA Today” on the self defeating nature of US sanctions, 20 August 2018 Article by H.E. Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu titled “Türkiye and Africa are building a solid partnership”, published on the occasion of 25 May Africa Day
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Article by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu published in Sri Lankan newspaper titled ''Time to Work for a New Impetus in Türkiye-Sri Lanka Relations'', 28 January 2022

Despite geographical distance Türkiye and Sri Lanka, resemble each other in several aspects. We have our distinct culture and traditions based on our rich historical heritage. Our diplomatic contacts go back to 1864 when the Ottoman Empire appointed an Honorary Consul to the city of Galle. Today, the memory of our shared history is cherished by naming a street after Sultan Abdulhamid the Second in the city of Colombo.

Today, both Türkiye and Sri Lanka play a pivotal role in their respective regions. Türkiye is an emerging economic powerhouse located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa, whereas Sri Lanka, being the pearl of the Indian Ocean, is projected to become a hub for trade and economy in South Asia.

Türkiye was also among the first countries that recognised the independence of Sri Lanka in 1948. The visit of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as the then Prime Minister, to Sri Lanka in February 2005 after the tsunami disaster, and the visit of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, as the then President, to Türkiye in 2008 were major milestones in our bilateral relations. Later, both countries set up their Embassies consecutively in 2012 and in 2013, which paved the way for mutual cooperation to develop in numerous areas.

Mutual high-level visits have contributed to strengthening of our ties. I was also pleased and honoured to be the first ever Minister of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye to visit Sri Lanka back in June 2016. The first political consultations held at the level of Deputy Foreign Minister from the Turkish side and Foreign Secretary from the Sri Lankan side in May 2019 in Colombo, have consolidated our relations. Timing of our first political consultations is also meaningful, as it took place right after the Easter bombings and was meant to express the solidarity of Türkiye with Sri Lanka in difficult times. As a sign of our friendly partnership, we decided to establish Interparliamentary Friendship Groups. We are looking forward for the development of our interparliamentary relations in the period ahead.

Fight against terrorism is an important area where we develop our cooperation. As two nations suffered from the scourge of terrorism, both Türkiye and Sri Lanka are at the forefront of promoting international cooperation in the fight against terrorism in its all forms and manifestations.

We aim to develop a win-win partnership with Sri Lanka. Our trade volume reached over 175 million USD in 2021. We should capitalize the true potential of our economic relations as soon as possible. I also believe that there is room for diversification of our trade items. Lately, during the second meeting of the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) held in June 2021, both countries pledged to increase bilateral trade volume to 500 million USD. We should focus on reaching this important target.

As far as people-to-people relations are concerned, I want to emphasize that the national flag carrier of Türkiye, Turkish Airlines, increased its weekly flights operating between Istanbul and Colombo to 11. Turkish Airlines has also immensely contributed to the Sri Lankan economy during the pandemic: while many airline companies stopped their operations to Sri Lanka, Turkish Airlines continued its cargo flights, enabling the Sri Lankan export products to reach world markets. Since 1992 Sri Lankan students are given the opportunity to study in Turkish universities as part of the Türkiye Scholarships program. I firmly believe that the increase in the numbers of Sri Lankan students in Türkiye will also contribute to strengthening these ties.

Last but not least, Türkiye has extended its helping hand to different communities in Sri Lanka and carried out 20 aid projects in different parts of the country. The villages built in 2006 in Midigama and in 2015 in Mannar for those affected by the tsunami and the civil war are our flagship projects. As part of its Covid-19 aid projects around the world, Türkiye has also provided medical equipment as well as personal protective equipment to the Sri Lankan health authorities.

I am glad to visit Sri Lanka again – a country that highly impressed me back in 2016. We aim to strengthen our existing ties and explore new avenues of cooperation. Our ancestors almost two centuries ago, took the first steps to bring closer our two nations. Today, built on our past, we can make our common future brighter. I am confident that my contacts in Colombo will help us to achieve this goal.