He Prime Minister Manuel Marrero attended this Saturday on behalf of Cuba the inauguration of the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The swearing-in took place in the Turkish Parliament, in Ankara, and continued at the presidential palace, site of the inauguration ceremony.
Marrero arrived this same Saturday in the Eurasian nation, where he was received around 1:00 in the morning (local time) by Alejandro Díaz Palacios, Cuban ambassador to that country.
On the Turkish side, the deputy governor of Istanbul, Sevket Atli, and the deputy commander of the Provincial Gendarmerie, Colonel Kadir Kalayci, were present. reported the newspaper Granma.
For the first time, a head of government of the island participates in a ceremony of this type, which the official media attributes to “the positive relations between the two countries, as well as the good level of government exchange and between institutions.”
Marrero himself also considered it so on Twitter.
I arrived in the Republic of #Türkiye ?? at the head of the Cuban delegation ?? that will participate in the inauguration ceremony of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan @RTErdoganas a sign of the positive relations that exist between our countries. pic.twitter.com/lbuvdBsXYj
– Manuel Marrero Cruz (@MMarreroCruz) June 3, 2023
During his stay in Turkey, the Cuban Prime Minister will meet with local authorities and representatives of the business sector, notes Granma.
It will also follow up on several ongoing bilateral projects and the agreements signed after the visit of President Miguel Díaz-Canel to that Eurasian nation in November 2022.
Cuba and Turkey have maintained uninterrupted diplomatic relations since November 25, 1952. Both nations have been strengthening their ties in recent times and carry out business projects in sectors such as agriculture, energy, culture and education.
After Erdogan’s victory in the second round of the presidential elections, Díaz-Canel congratulated his Turkish counterpart and wished him “success in his duties.”
In addition, he reiterated his will of the island government “to continue promoting the ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.”
Díaz-Canel congratulates Erdogan on his re-election as President of Turkey
The ceremony
Recep Tayyip Erdogan assumes his third consecutive term as Turkey’s president, which will run until 2028. He had previously ruled the country since 2003 as prime minister.
Some twenty heads of state, 13 heads of government -such as Marrero-, foreign ministers and other ministers and official representatives attended the swearing-in and investiture ceremonies this Saturday.
As confirmed by the Turkish public broadcaster TRT, those present at the event include the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro; the one from Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev; and that of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa; as well as the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, and that of Armenia, Nikol Pashinián.
Erdogan swore the oath before acting Parliament Speaker Devlet Bahçeli, the oldest deputy. After the obligatory visit to the mausoleum of the founder of the Turkish republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, he went to the presidential palace, to proceed to the inauguration ceremony.
In the ceremony, the Turkish president swore to protect the existence and independence of the State, the integrity of the homeland, the unconditional sovereignty of the nation, the rule of law and the principle of a secular republic, according to international media.
