The Consulate General of Turkey held a reception to mark the Turkish Republic’s 90th anniversary at the Hilton hotel in Jeddah earlier this week.

Fikret Özer, the Turkish consul general, and his wife Dilsat Ozer, welcomed the guest of honor, Nabil Bukhari, director of protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Makkah region, as well as diplomats, dignitaries and guests.

Özer said Turkish citizens living in various parts of the Kingdom are celebrating the birth of a modern nation on the lands of Anatolia.

The consul general asserted that the Republic of Turkey has achieved milestones on various fronts and has successfully overcome obstacles during the course of its history to emerge as an independent, democratic and secular state with a solid economy.

Addressing the strong bilateral ties between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the consul general said the Kingdom is one of the leading powers in the region.

“We are glad to see that relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia continue to develop, progress and diversify on all fronts on the basis of historic friendship and brotherhood between the two countries. This has been manifested in the increasing number of high-level visits between Turkey and Saudi Arabia in recent years,” he said.

The Turkish Parliament passed a law earlier this year that enables Saudi and Gulf citizens the right to own property in Turkey.

“This new law will contribute significantly to the existing strong ties enjoyed by Turkey and Saudi Arabia,” Özer added.

“More than 400,000 Turkish nationals came for Umrah and Haj and on this occassion, I would like to express our appreciation and gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, his government, the Ministry of Haj and authorities and officials. They contributed to a successful pilgrimage, with the arduous tasks of planning and measures taken in a timely manner despite the constraints and difficulties caused by the ongoing expansion work,” he said.

Özer said that Turkey’s GDP has grown from $148.1 billion to $800 billion in 2012, making it the 16th largest economy in the world and the 6th largest in Europe.

Turkey’s economy grew by 8.5 percent in 2011, ranking second behind China. The rate of growth recorded in 2012 was even higher, standing at 9.2 percent.

“We are glad to witness the $2 billion increase achieved in the value of trade volume in 2012, bringing the total value to $8.1 billion. We are pleased to see stability in trade relations continue in 2013,” he said.

On the political front, Özer pointed out that Turkey is part of the international contact group created in 2009 to resolve the dispute between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). He went on to highlight how Turkey paid particular attention to the plight of the Somali people during the famine period.

“We are also following up closely on the fate of Rohingya Muslims exposed to violent attacks and displacement from their homes and lands. We also hope that the international community acts immediately and bring an end to the apathy displayed in regards to the violence targeting the Syrian people,” he said.

Fikret Özer, Nabil Bukhari and other Arab diplomats inaugurated the tourism photo exhibition on the sidelines of the national celebrations.