Speech by Turkish Consul General Güneş Yeşildağ at the Inauguration Ceremony of
Turkish Airlines Istanbul-Mazar-e Sharif Flights
(20 November 2013, Mawlana Jalaladdin Balkhi Airport Passenger Terminal, Mazar-e Sharif)


H.E. Governor Atta Muhammed Nur,
Dear Colleagues,
Distinguished Guests,

Today we meet at a long awaited event by everybody living and working in northern Afghanistan. Today, Istanbul-Mazar-e Sharif flights are starting. Therefore, it is a great and distinct pleasure to be addressing you on the occasion of the arrival of the first Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul.

Dear Friends,

The strong friendly and fraternal relations between the Turkish and the Afghan peoples stem from the deep-rooted and shared history and culture. With the start of flights between Istanbul and Mazar-e Sharif, this firm relationship will be clinched once again as flights do not only bring countries closer together but also their people.

In this regard, by facilitating the access of business people to the region, the flights will also benefit economic activity here. I believe Turkish and Afghan alike, this is truly everybody’s expectation. I am confident that these flights will play an important role in untapping the economic potential of northern Afghanistan.

I am also optimistic that in the not too distant future there will be incoming passengers on these flights for touristic purposes as well. My optimism comes from one of the most outstanding figures of our shared history and culture, Mawlana Jalaladdin Rumi, who was a prominent poet and philosopher of the Islamic world and known as Mawlana Jalaladdin Balkhi in Afghanistan. His journey in the mortal plane had begun in Balkh, Afghanistan and ended in Konya, Turkey. I know that many in Turkey are longing to one day see the lands Mawlana was born in.

These direct flights, while serving as another channel to enhance exchanges between Turkish and Afghan peoples, will be a gateway for northern Afghanistan to access all other parts of the world by offering the possibility of flying to more than 240 destinations from Istanbul. These flights will, of course, also facilitate the efforts of the international community here in northern Afghanistan.

Dear Guests,

The launching of flights of global airlines, this new German financed passenger terminal which enables these flights, the soon to be started oil and natural gas exploration and extraction project here in Mazar-e Sharif by a consortium including Turkish Petroleum Company, are all but some of the tangible signs of development and increasing capacity in Afghanistan. These signs give us confidence to carry further our work both bilaterally and as part of the international community. These signs indicate that, though it may be a long one, we are on the right track to a stable and prosperous Afghanistan that sustains itself with her own means.

Dear Guests,

As we are witnessing the arrival of Turkish Airlines flights today to Mazar-e Sharif, I should note the invaluable contribution of H.E. Basat Öztürk, Turkish Ambassador to Kabul who completed his four year tenure in Afghanistan a couple of days ago. I should also thank H.E. Atta Muhammad Nur, Governor of Balkh Province, officials of the Afghan Ministry of Transport and Communication, our friends at the Mawlana Jalaladdin Balkhi Airport and Balkh Air Services Company as well as German-led ISAF Regional Command – North under the command of Major General Vollmer for lending every support to the realization of these long awaited flights.

Hope to see you all on the Turkish Airlines flights to Istanbul.

Thank you.