The Turkish Ambassador H.E. Mehmet Sait Uyanık gave the first interview since the beginning of his mandate to BNT. In front of the public media, he spoke about the priorities in bilateral relations, the contract with the energy company "Botaş" and the development of tourism, economic exchange.
BNT: Your Excellency, first of all, I would like to thank you for agreeing to give your first interview to BNT. It has been a year since you have been here. You were sent to the Balkans by a diplomat who had been to Europe, and for the first time as an ambassador. What did you know about our country before that and what new thing did you learn here that surprised you?
H.E. Mehmet Sait Uyanık, Ambassador of Turkey to Bulgaria: "I thank you for the invitation too! As you said, my first year in Bulgaria has passed. I knew a lot about the country, which is our neighbor and ally, but of course, when a person comes to the place, lives there and makes friends, he gets to know Bulgaria much better. The country is very impressive with its history, nature and culture. The people are very warm. Since I have been here, my schedule has been and continues to be very busy, but I can say that it has been a very good and fruitful year. I am happy to be in a country that is so beautiful and at the same time is so close to Turkey. I see that bilateral relations have advanced at every level, but there is still a lot of potential that we need to use. That is why we are working very hard with my entire team. I saw that economic relations have advanced extremely and that made me very happy. Turkish investments in Bulgaria are over 3 billion euros. Trade turnover is 7.7 billion euros and has increased by 15%. We are trying to reach 10 billion euros. The fact that Bulgarian Turks live here makes it easier for investors. I knew that they have an exceptional contribution to political, economic and cultural processes, but now I have seen it with my own eyes. We look at Bulgarian Turks as a bridge between the two countries."
BNT: But what are the most important sectors for you? If one observes what you do closely, one gets the impression that this is the economy?
N. P. Mehmet Sait Uyanık, Ambassador of Turkey to Bulgaria: "That's right. You have noticed very correctly. Economic progress allows both sides to benefit. It strengthens bilateral relations. But it is wrong to reduce our relations only to economic ties, because we already have very good relations at the political and every other level. Outside of these, health issues, trade, transport, energy are among the sectors that we are trying to develop even further. We should not miss culture. If you have been observant, you will see that we have organized a number of cultural events. Maybe about 15 in one year. Culture is an important topic for us because it helps us to get to know each other better. I think it is a big disadvantage that we do not have a cultural center here. I hope that such centers will be opened in the coming years both in Bulgaria and in Turkey. If we manage to do it, on the one hand we will get to know each other better, and on the other - this will make a huge contribution to our rapprochement."
"It is difficult to list all the sectors in which we cooperate, but tourism is the one that I have defined as a priority since the beginning of my mandate in Bulgaria. Back then, I did not know that there was such a great interest in my country. If we look at the data, 3 million of our friends from Bulgaria visited Turkey last year, which is very impressive. And despite all the difficulties with visa procedures, 2.2 million Turkish tourists visited Bulgaria. Health tourism is also very important, because in the last five years, nearly 100 thousand Bulgarian citizens have used medical services in Turkey."
BNT: Are the number of bilateral meetings and visits the basis of this success?
H. E. Mehmet Sait Uyanık, Ambassador of Turkey to Bulgaria: "Visits are extremely important for bilateral relations. They are at every level - from ministries and ministers to experts and technical teams. One of the latest examples is the visit of the Prosecutor General of Turkey to Bulgaria. He held very fruitful meetings. The possibility of holding a meeting of the prosecutor generals from the Balkan countries in Bulgaria was discussed at these meetings. Of course, the leader of GERB Boyko Borissov met with our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul. We all know about the great friendship between them. The Minister of Trade was here soon, and he was also very impressed by what he saw. His meeting with Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov was also very fruitful. Let's not forget the participation of Bulgarian statesmen at the Diplomatic Forum in Antalya."
BNT: Let's get into a hot political topic - you know, it is possible that a new party will be created. It is also expected that it will represent part of the Bulgarian Turks. How does Turkey view this and how would it affect bilateral relations?
H. E. Mehmet Sait Uyanık, Ambassador of Turkey to Bulgaria: "I said a moment ago - bilateral relations at the political level are extremely good. Of course, as an Embassy we monitor the political processes in Bulgaria - the current debates and the development of issues, but it is not appropriate for me to comment on issues related to the internal affairs of the country as a foreign diplomat."
BNT: Both Bulgaria and Turkey have made great efforts in the field of security, securing our common border and preventing the trafficking of migrants. What is the situation there at the moment, after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria?
H. E. Mehmet Sait Uyanık, Ambassador of Turkey to Bulgaria: "Our Interior Ministries and Customs are really carrying out impressive joint activities. If we had to make a ranking in which areas our bilateral relations are at the best level, perhaps these would be the leading areas. Our country is working extremely actively and very seriously to prevent the illegal trafficking of migrants and drugs. We are strengthening the surveillance of our border both by building observation towers and with physical force, drones and the construction of checkpoints that start from Istanbul and continue to the border itself. In this way, we have made the migrant channel through Bulgaria less preferred. We have achieved great success in this regard. The data is available. Over the past year, we have a 70% drop. Of course, this is also related to Bulgaria's membership in Schengen. Let's not forget that a contact group has been established between Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece. This mechanism works very well. The last meeting of the interior ministers was held in January in Istanbul. We plan the next one to be here, in Sofia."
BNT: A number of projects for our transport connectivity have been launched, at what stage are they?
H. E. Mehmet Sait Uyanık, Ambassador of Turkey to Bulgaria: Transport connectivity is among the priorities in bilateral relations. They affect exports from Turkey to Europe. It is worth noting here that the "Kapitan Andreevo" border checkpoint is already the busiest in the world and has overtaken the one between the USA and Mexico. Last year, 4.5 million vehicles crossed our borders. Therefore, it is time to strengthen these borders. The conversation about this began with the caretaker government of Dimitar Glavchev. Modernization and capacity increase of both the "Kapitan Andreevo" and the "Lesovo" border checkpoints are underway. We hope this will be completed within a year and a half."
BNT: The other topic, which is related to both countries, but in Bulgaria is very often the subject of political commentary, is the contract with "Botaş". How does Turkey view this?
H. E. Mehmet Sait Uyanık, Ambassador of Turkey to Bulgaria: "We see that the issue of "Botaş" occupies a very large place in the country's domestic politics. But the reason for concluding this contract – between "Botaş" and "Bulgartransgaz" was related to the fact that Bulgaria had suffered from the energy crisis caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine. This contract was concluded by order of our president in order to help Bulgaria at that moment. On our side, this contract was signed with the best intentions and the desire at a purely political level was to help Bulgaria, but let us not forget that this is a contract signed between two enterprises and it is a commercial contract. Despite the fact that there was political support, its conclusion nevertheless became a fact after negotiations between the technical teams of both countries. If we have to talk about the details, we as diplomats do not know them closely because they are a trade secret. What I can say is that we are aware of the disputes and the inconvenience that has arisen. Specialists from both companies have been meeting for a long time. Our energy ministers have also discussed this issue. Turkey is looking at this issue with the best intentions and is considering what we can do to take beneficial steps, bearing in mind our good friendly relations."
BNT: When we talked about Russia and Ukraine, let's look there, because because of this war, the whole world is looking at Turkey. A few days ago, your Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Russia, and immediately after that, Ukraine. Thanks to the negotiations, prisoners of war were also exchanged. How do you expect them to develop?
H. E. Mehmet Sait Uyanık, Ambassador of Turkey to Bulgaria: "Turkey has been striving for peace since the very beginning of the war. Three years ago, at the Diplomatic Forum in Antalya, in order to organize it, the two foreign ministers - of Russia and Ukraine - sat down at the negotiating table. Later, another meeting was held in Istanbul. Unfortunately, at that moment we did not achieve any results. Since then, we have been trying to find a fair and lasting solution for Ukraine through diplomatic means and we support this. As you know, on May 16, representatives of the two countries sat down at the negotiating table again in Istanbul. After that, our Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited both Russia and Ukraine. We are trying to achieve a lasting and just peace for Ukraine. We say this not only for the two countries, but also in terms of the security of the entire Black Sea region."
BNT: And what can the two countries achieve for the region as partners of each other and working together?
H. E. Mehmet Sait Uyanık, Ambassador of Turkey to Bulgaria: "When we look at Bulgaria and Turkey, the Black Sea and the Balkans, we see that we are natural partners, both in NATO and as neighbors. Many of our positions overlap. I hope that our trade relations will grow. At the same time, for me, cooperation in the field of culture should be upgraded. When we talk about Bulgaria and Turkey in the context of the Balkans, these are two very important countries in this region. We work in many areas - from the economy to academia, and this is exactly what will help the security of our countries. The Black Sea Mine Action Group within the framework of NATO, which includes Bulgaria, Turkey and Romania, is also among the examples of this. Since the beginning of its activities in July 2024, 22 mines have been defused. I deeply believe that such cooperation will contribute to the development of relations between the two countries in many other areas."