Pretoria - Dignitaries and academics who attended the official launch of the Maarif Centre for Turkish studies said they hoped the centre will kick-start the journey to learning about each other, in order to change the world for the better.
The centre was officially launched yesterday at the University of Pretoria’s Future Africa Campus, through a collaborative effort by the university and the Faculty of Humanities.
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkiye, Mevlüt Çavusoglu, said as the only Turkish Studies Centre in the country, he hoped the centre would promote academic and policy interaction between Africa and Turkiye.
Çavusoglu said he believed problems such as the war in Ukraine, and the impact it has had on energy markets, food security and inflation, as well as the global pandemics, could be resolved through a multilateral vision.
“We cannot overcome the terrorism threat, the challenge of irregular migration or organised crime without global solidarity and co-operation. While our fates are tied more than ever, our minds are not.”
The foreign minister added that as new global players, Turkey and South Africa had an important role to play in the age of crises and uncertainty. Çavusoglu said as they too shared the belief of Nelson Mandela about the power of education to change the world, they believed it was fundamental to build relationships and invest in the sector at all costs to ensure that countries learnt from each other.
He said nearly 61 000 students from the continent were receiving education in Turkiye, with 223 South African students among them.
He said for Turkiye the main pillar of their efforts in education was the Maarif Foundation which had a presence in 51 countries to become a global education brand. Professor Caroline Nicholson, standing in for the vice-chancellor at the launch of the Maarif Centre, said the establishment of the centre could not have come at a better time as relations between Türkiye and South Africa were flourishing on all levels, including trade, investment, education, culture and tourism.
Furthermore, Nicholson said both countries were committed to growing engagement with their communities and partners, locally and internationally.
Pretoria News