ANKARA
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday received Tawakkul Karman, a Yemeni rights activist and the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.
Davutoglu received Karman at the Foreign Ministry Residence and presented Karman her Turkish ID card after she became a Turkish citizen.
Speaking to reporters before meeting Karman, Davutoglu said that Karman, whose roots go back to the Turkish province of Karaman, and her struggle for democracy in the Arab Spring process was important.
"We are honored by the fact that a member of a family from Anatolia led the struggle for freedom and democracy in the Middle East as a female," Davutoglu noted.
Davutoglu-Karman meeting later continued behind closed doors.
Diplomatic sources said that Karman told Davutoglu how happy she was to become a citizen of the Republic of Turkey.
Thanking Davutoglu, Karman said that "Turkish citizenship was more valuable than the Nobel prize."
Karman is the first Arab woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
