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Anadolu Agency inaugurates new office in Erbil

Turkish deputy PM, Kurdish Regional Government deputy PM hail opening of AA's new office in Erbil and Kurdish broadcast as success of Turkey's solution process

21.11.2014 - Update : 21.11.2014
Anadolu Agency inaugurates new office in Erbil

ERBIL, Iraq

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan said on Friday that the opening of the Anadolu Agency's new office in the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Erbil is an achievement of Turkey's Kurdish solution process.

He was referring to the Turkish government’s efforts launched early last year to secure an end to the decades-long conflict with the PKK, which has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people.

Akdogan made his remarks at the inauguration ceremony of the Anadolu Agency's Erbil office.

"During the Justice and Development Party government, the Turkish state faced all these issues and accepted the existence of Kurds along with other ethnic groups and religious sects," he said.

Akdogan stressed that the Turkish state also established a Kurdish TV channel within the Turkish state broadcaster, TRT.

He also said that the Anadolu Agency also broadcasts in Kurdish, and is now opening offices in the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq. 

"The settlement of the Kurdish issue in Turkey will set a key example for the whole region in providing democratic solutions to problems," he added.

The terrorist group ISIL has seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria since mid-June.

In response, the Iraqi army and Kurdish peshmerga forces have jointly engaged the militants.

The U.S.-led international coalition, which includes France, Germany, and Saudi Arabia, has also carried out numerous airstrikes against ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria.

Akdogan further reiterated Turkey's support for the Iraqi central government and the Kurdish region in their anti-terror efforts.

He also emphasized the need not to spark any ethnic conflict or discord during the fight against terrorism.

Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government Deputy Prime Minister Qubat Talabani congratulated the Anadolu Agency on its opening of the Erbil office and said it was an important step to providing accurate information to the citizens of the region. 

"The other ministers and I are aware of how effective the Anadolu Agency is," Talabani said during his speech. "And the fact that we have the opportunity today to meet is important for our relations."

The Anadolu Agency’s Director-General, Kemal Ozturk, said that the agency has offices in 84 countries around the world.

"We also have offices in the Iraqi provinces of Baghdad, Sulaymaniyah and Kirkuk," Ozturk added. 

The Anadolu Agency has become an important source of news for the Kurdish media since its inauguration on Sept. 1, 2013, and it has increased its number of subscribers to 21, including television channels and newspapers.

As part of its centennial vision, the agency plans to broadcast in 11 languages by 2020. 

The agency currently broadcasts in Turkish, Arabic, English, Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian, Russian, Kurdish, French and Albanian.

The Anadolu Agency has divided its global network into five main regions as part of its centennial vision; the Americas, Europe, Middle East-Africa, Asia-Caucasus and Asia-Pacific.

www.aa.com.tr/en

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