VISIT OF THE AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY AND AN OCCASIONAL PROGRAM BY THE STUDENTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TURKISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

On Thursday, November 28, 2019, the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. E. Haldun Koç visited the University of Zenica. The visit began with a meeting held at the Rector's Office of the University of Zenica, attended by, in addition to Ambassador Koč and the Rector of the University of Zenica, prof. Ph.D. Damir Kukić, attended by the education attaché of the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Vasi Ete, head of the Department of Turkish Language and Literature, Assoc. prof. Ph.D. Edina Solak, Director of the Yunus Emre Institute Mr. Mehmet Akif Yaman and Director of the Turkish Development and Cooperation Agency (TIKA) Mr. Ömer Faruk Alımcı. Rector of the University of Zenica prof. Ph.D. Damir Kukić thanked the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey and the Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Center for the selfless support and help they provide to the University of Zenica and the Department of Turkish Language and Literature. Rector Kukić referred to the fact that the Department of Turkish Language and Literature of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Zenica was founded on the basis of the protocol signed by the Government of the Zenica-Doboj Canton, the University of Zenica and the Turkish Agency for International Cooperation and Coordination in 2005, and that today, after fourteen years, he can state that the opening of this department was a strategically well-planned decision, primarily because today the Turkish language is studied as an optional subject in primary and secondary schools in the area of Zenica-Doboj Canton, and the teaching staff is mostly made up of graduates of the Department of Turkish language and literature, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zenica.

After the meeting, the delegation attended an appropriate program organized by the Department of Turkish Language and Literature and held in the premises of the Faculty of Economics and Law. As part of this program, the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Prof. Dr. Spahija Kozlić, and Ambassador Koç gave a lecture and answered the questions of the students of the Department of Turkish Language and Literature, who expressed great interest in student exchange projects. The visit ended with a tour of the premises of the Department of Turkish Language and Literature, and Ambassador Koç particularly emphasized the fact that he was positively surprised by the situation at the Department of Turkish Language and Literature, pointing out that it is the best indicator of successful and good cooperation between the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey, the Ministry of Education, Science culture and sports of the Zenica-Doboj Canton and the University of Zenica. Ambassador Koç and Rector Kukić said that they will do everything in their power to make this cooperation even better in the future.