Tatarstan President meets delegation of Istanbul Kent University

On October 1, speaking at a meeting with the Founder of Istanbul Kent University Mesut Yilmaz at the Government House of the republic, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said that Tatarstan always supports initiatives to develop cooperation with Turkish partners, aimed at strengthening Russian-Turkish relations.

Minnikhanov emphasized that Turkey is one of the leading foreign partners of Tatarstan. At the end of 2018, the trade turnover exceeded 314 million US dollars. He said that several large Turkish plants are successfully operating in the republic, namely, Kastamonu Entegre, Hayat Kimya, Coşkunöz Metal Centre and many others, such as Shishejam - Trakya Glass, Shishejam - Automotive Glass, Dzhoshkunoz, Design Group . There is a daily direct flight between Kazan and Istanbul.

Minnikhanov emphasized such areas as energy, petrochemicals, engineering, IT, healthcare, construction, tourism, the exchange of experience in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises among the promising areas for cooperation.

The Consulate General of Turkey in Kazan makes a great contribution to strengthening of Tatarstan-Turkish relations.

“We are developing education contacts. Over 100 students from Turkey are studying in the republic. I believe that the exchange of students, teachers and inter-university interaction is very important. Partnership between Istanbul Kent University and Kazan State Medical University contributes to strengthening our educational cooperation. Today, Kazan Federal University is also developing the medical area,” Minnikhanov said.

In his turn, Yilmaz emphasized that in recent years relations between Tatarstan and Turkey have gained a new impetus and have great potential for further development.

He briefed about the Istanbul Kent University, which was founded in 2016 and over 3,000 students are studying there today. “Our main focus is medicine. We also train management staff in the healthcare area. We have a very good Department of Dentistry,” Yilmaz said.

He expressed confidence that this visit will give impetus to the development of cooperation with Kazan State Medical University and Kazan Federal University.