August 16, 2018•Update: August 16, 2018
By Tugba Yardimci
TRABZON, Turkey
The Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) will not find ease anywhere, said Turkey's ambassador to Sudan.
"We are closely tracking the remnants of FETO there [in Sudan]...FETO will not find ease anywhere in the world," Irfan Neziroglu told Anadolu Agency.
Neziroglu said FETO was degraded in Sudan after a high-ranking member was extradited to Turkey through the efforts of the Turkish intelligence agency.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated July 2016 coup in Turkey which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
The terrorist organization is reportedly present in more than 150 countries around the world through schools, non-governmental organizations, lobbyists, media outlets and other companies.
After having served for 26 years in Turkey’s parliament, Neziroglu was appointed ambassador to Sudan in 2017.
On bilateral relations with Sudan, Neziroglu said Ankara holds Khartoum in high esteem due to their deep cultural and ethnic ties.
According to Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, Turkey was among the first countries to open an embassy in Khartoum just after Sudan’s independence in 1956.
Neziroglu said Sudanese people feel a "great affection" for Turkey and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited Sudan last December and called for more Turkish investment in Sudan.
Turkey aims to reach a $2 billion bilateral trade volume with Sudan.
In July, Ankara and Khartoum signed an association agreement in order to boost trade.
The ambassador added that Turkey provides Sudan with a wide range of know-how and human resources.
"We are on the one hand working to consolidate our political and economic relations [with Sudan], while on the other hand, we try to appeal to the hearts of the people," Neziroglu said.
He said the number of Turkey's embassies in Africa is 42, adding it is expected to increase to 48 in one or two years.
