By Manal Abdel Fattah
As part of its role in supporting communication between Turkish and Egyptian educational, cultural and media institutions, the Yunus Emre Institute “Turkish Cultural Center” held an event entitled “Media Forum” in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, with the participation of a number of representatives of media institutions from both countries.
The event was moderated by the director of the Department of Cultural Diplomacy at the Yunus Emre Institute in Ankara, “Melih Barut,” the director of the Yunus Emre Institute in Cairo, “Amin Boyraz,” and the journalist and editor-in-chief of Al-Shorouk newspaper, and the representative of the Journalists Syndicate, “Muhammad Saad Abdel Hafeez,” with the participation of the veteran Turkish journalist, “Yavuz Donat.”
In his opening speech, Director of the Yunus Emre Institute in Cairo, Amin Poyraz, stressed the importance of the cultural aspect of relations between the two countries, as culture supports various areas of cooperation from economy and trade to education and tourism.
He pointed out that the Yunus Emre Institute always works to consolidate the bonds of love and friendship with all countries, and to create bridges of communication between various sectors.
The famous journalist Yavuz Donat, who lived with all the presidents in Turkey from the era of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk until the current president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, spoke and said: “We in Egypt are the country that hosted many important civilizations in human history.
We are in a region in the middle of the world, a country.” It has great power. Egypt is the mother of the world. Its history is influential and its civilization is deeply rooted in history, and we know very well its status and its Arab and African presence.
He added, “During the liberation war in Turkey, we suffered economic problems and the Egyptian Red Crescent provided aid to the Turkish Red Crescent.
The history of diplomatic relations between the two countries goes back to the year 1926.
The first agreement between Egypt and Turkey was concluded in 1937, and the first article of this agreement stipulates the inevitability of permanent peace between the two countries.” The friendship still exists to this day and nothing will disturb its peace.”
For his part, Mohamed Saad Abdel Hafeez, Undersecretary of the Journalists Syndicate, said that the mission of the media is to develop relations and disseminate the principles that constitute rapprochement in accordance with respect for the Charter of Professional Work, indicating that it is not in the interest of the national media to publish what causes a cooling of relations, but my responsibility is to convey the image and fulfill the needs.
The reader believes that the new stage calls for hope for strong relations that meet the interests of the two countries.
During the event, the prospects for cooperation between the two countries were reviewed after the return of normal relations and the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Egypt, and in light of anticipation for the visit of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to Turkey.
Viewpoints were also exchanged on the role of the media in strengthening bilateral relations, especially from the cultural aspect, and ways to establish Sustainable communication between media and journalistic institutions in a way that achieves media integration between them and serves the common interests of the two countries.
Participating in the activities of the “Media Forum” from the Turkish side were the head of the news sector of the NTV channel, “Ahmet Yeşil Tepe,” the correspondent of the Turkish Ikhlas News Agency, “Yibrak Mutlu,” the correspondent of the Turkish television TRT, “Bushra Tucu,” and the writer for the Turkish Sabah newspaper, “Funda Karayal.”
From the Egyptian side, the managing editor of Al-Ahram newspaper, “Maher Moukalled,” the deputy editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram, the deputy editor of the Journalists Syndicate, and the editor-in-chief of Aladdin magazine, “Hussein El-Zanati,” the deputy editor-in-chief of Al-Gomhouria newspaper, “Mr. Hani,” and the editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram Weekly, “Ezzat Ibrahim.”
The correspondent for Al-Ahram Al-Arabi newspaper and Al-Hadath TV channel, “Suzi Al-Junaidi,” the editor-in-chief of Democracy Magazine, “Bashir Abdel Fattah,” the editor-in-chief of the International Politics Magazine, “Ahmed Naji Qamha,” the presenter of Al-Ghad News Channel, “Mohamed Maghribi,” and the head of the Training and Education Committee of the Media Syndicate, “Ayman.” Adly, Al-Ahram Hebdo journalist Samar El Gamal, and Al-Ahram cultural affairs journalist Nadine Hamama.
The event is the seventh of its kind, as it comes after similar events held by the Yunus Emre Institute in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Albania, Romania, Venezuela and Mexico.
