Recep Tayyip Erdoğan denounced in 2017  German government the “Nazi practices” A year and a half later, the Turkish president Thursday in Berlin, begins a state visit supposed to reconcile the two countries.

“The first objective of this visit is to put an end to the period of tension that our bilateral relations have gone through in recent years,” Erdoğan said on Sunday before flying to the United States for UNGE.

For his first state visit to Germany since his election as President in 2014, Erdoğan will be received  by Angela Merkel, as well as by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He will then inaugurate Saturday the Cologne Mosque, funded by a Turkish organization.

Erdoğan expects “measures” to develop relations between the two countries. With around 7,500 German companies present in Turkey, Berlin is a key partner.

The German group Siemens is eyeing in particular a mega-construction site of high-speed lines whose total amount could amount to 35 billion euros.

President  Erdoğan also wants Germany, which is home to around 3 million people of Turkish origin or nationality, to play a “constructive role” in the process of Turkey’s EU accession or exemption. of visas, two files blocked.

The Syrian issue will also be at the heart of the exchanges between the two countries, which together welcome several million Syrian refugees and want to avoid new influxes of migrants.

Another expectation of Turkish president Erdoğan: Germany must fight “more effectively” against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)  a terrorist organization, according to Ankara and the EU  and supporters of the preacher Fethullah Gülen (FETÖ) , accused of fomenting the failed coup  of 2016.

Opponents, especially Kurds, will parade Friday in Berlin. The organizers are expecting 10,000 people. Another rally is scheduled for Saturday in Cologne.

Hülya Karahan:The Founder

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