World Courant
ANKARA
The Mates of Türkiye Affiliation, primarily based within the capital of Mauritius, organized an exhibition, titled The Effendis of the Indian Ocean, specializing in Ottoman, Türkiye-Mauritius relations.
The exhibition was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius Mohammad Anwar Husnoo, former Vice President Abdool Raouf Bundhun, Turkey’s Ambassador to Madagascar and accredited consultant to Mauritius Ishak Ebrar Cubukcu, Mauritius’ Honorary Consul to Turkey and Founding Honorary President of the Mates of Turkey Affiliation Ahmet Kemal Oncu, Egypt’s Ambassador to Port Louis Abir Alam Eldin, Turkish Airways’ Mauritius Director Ahmet Tursun, lecturers, and NGO representatives.
Additionally current had been the descendants of Mauritian households who, by means of help campaigns, despatched assist to the Ottomans throughout tough instances, such because the 1911-12 Italo-Turkish Struggle, the 1912-13 Balkan Wars, the 1919 Turkish Struggle of Independence, and the 1939 Erzincan earthquake.
On the opening of this system, Abdool Saboor Mahomed Saleh, the president of the Mates of Türkiye Affiliation, said that the exhibition was organized with the help of Ahmet Kemal Oncu and his spouse, Gulbahar Oncu.
He stated: “Because of the non-public efforts of the Oncu household, this exhibition permits us to return in time precisely 111 years and study in regards to the story of Mauritians who had very sturdy ties with Ottoman Türkiye in 1913. A lot of you current right here at present are the descendants of these courageous women and men who bought their possessions and sacrificed their cash to affix Türkiye’s battle for freedom and independence.”
For his half, Mohammad Anwar Husnoo expressed his honor and pleasure in attending the opening of the exhibition. He recommended Ahmet Kemal Oncu and his spouse Gulbahar for his or her initiative, noting Ahmet Kemal’s longstanding efforts, together with bringing a Turkish tv crew to provide a documentary about Mauritius.
Husnoo highlighted the intensive analysis undertaken to uncover historic relations between the Ottoman Empire and Mauritius, stating that these previous recollections will function a powerful basis for future bilateral relations.
Ahmet Kemal Oncu careworn that he spent seven years researching Türkiye-Mauritius relations, uncovering important historic data.
He honored Mauritian heroes who donated to the Ottomans throughout crises and expressed Turkish gratitude for his or her ancestors’ sacrifices.
Oncu determined to go to Mauritius after studying an article about native Muslims needing assist. Regardless of preliminary issues, he discovered a thriving and influential Muslim neighborhood. His rising curiosity in Mauritius led him to find the deep historic ties between the island and the Ottoman Empire, courting again to the early 1800s.
Oncu defined that the choice of the Muslims in Mauritius to open a second mosque in 1850 initiated the method of building contact with the Ottomans.
“The island’s folks determined to construct a big mosque. They conveyed this request to the British governor. The governor stated ‘You’ll be able to’t open a mosque at your discretion; you could deliver us a letter out of your caliph.’ In different phrases, they wanted to get permission from Istanbul. The affiliation members ready a petition and despatched it to the caliph of the time, Abdulmejid. Abdulmejid granted permission for the mosque to be opened and appointed somebody from there to the mosque. From then on, sermons on the island started to be delivered within the title of Abdulmejid and Abdulhamid II. On holidays and spiritual nights, they all the time hoisted the Turkish flag,” he stated.
Talking on the program, Türkiye’s Ambassador to Madagascar Ishak Ebrar Cubukcu stated: “Though our diplomatic relations with Mauritius had been established in 1976, 48 years in the past, our cultural relations date again to the nineteenth century. Certainly, this exhibition is a real reflection of our friendship depicted by pictures and historic paperwork.”
“I shall confess that our relationships with Mauritius excel in lots of areas. The opening of our Embassy in Antananarivo in April 2010, which can also be accredited to Mauritius and the Comores, contributes to the event of our bilateral relations. Particularly our business ties are rising additional, due to the Free Commerce Settlement, the Settlement on Commerce and Financial Cooperation, and the Settlement on the Reciprocal Promotion and Safety of Investments that we signed years in the past. We additionally anticipate to signal the Settlement on Cooperation within the Subject of Fisheries, the Settlement on Cooperation within the Subject of Tourism, and the Double Taxation Avoidance Settlement within the close to future,” he stated.
Cubukcu highlighted the numerous enhance in commerce quantity between the 2 nations, reaching $89 million in 2023, and expressed perception within the potential for additional collaboration and studying alternatives.
He additionally famous the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye on Feb. 6, 2023, which resulted in important lack of life and infrastructure harm. Regardless of ongoing challenges, Türkiye demonstrated resilience and nationwide solidarity, notably in housing building efforts for the earthquake victims. He prolonged gratitude to the Mauritian authorities, its folks, and the Mates of Turkey for his or her help and contributions to earthquake restoration efforts.
Cubukcu stated that Turkish Airways’ optimistic impression additionally reaches out to Madagascar through Mauritius with two frequencies per week plus one cargo, and shortly to be three as of July 2024.
“Because of Turkish Airways, our quantity commerce with Madagascar actually doubled to $203 million in 2023. On this regard, we anticipate Turkish Airways to extend the momentum it generated in our relationships with Madagascar with extra and direct frequencies identical to it did within the instance of Mauritius. The non-public efforts of our Regional Supervisor Mr. Ahmet Tursun and his dynamic crew made all this doable. Heartfelt thanks,” he added.
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