South Korean premier to visit Turkiye

ISTANBUL

South Korea’s prime minister will visit Turkiye on Thursday, according to a statement from Turkiye’s Communications Directorate.

Kim Boo-kyum will be in Turkiye until March 19 and attend the opening ceremony of the 1915 Canakkale Bridge.

The prime minister is expected to be received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vice President Fuat Oktay.

Turkish and South Korean firms signed a deal in 2017 to work on the multi-billion-dollar project.

The ceremony Friday for the world’s longest middle-span suspension bridge will be on the anniversary of the 1915 victory during World War I.

Erdogan said earlier that the bridge “which has already become one of the symbols of our country” was constructed by an enormous team of 670 engineers, more than 5,000 workers, 740 construction vehicles, and 106 subcontractors.

The bridge links Europe and Asia and its architecture is unique with its colors, figures, and soars higher than the Eifel tower on either bank of the Canakkale Strait -- a strait in Canakkale province between the Aegean Sea to the south and the Sea of Marmara to the north.