The Turkish Naval Forces’ ship TCG Kinaliada arrived at the port of Colombo on a formal visit this morning, 9th July 2024. The Sri Lanka Navy welcomed the visiting ship with full naval traditions.
The 99.5-meter-long ship, commanded by Commander Serkan Dogan, is manned by 152 crew members. During its stay in Colombo, the Commanding Officer of the ship met with the Commander Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Saman Perera, at the Western Naval Headquarters. The crew members are also scheduled to visit several tourist attractions in Sri Lanka.
TCG Kinaliada will conclude its official visit and depart the island on 11th July. Upon departure, the ship will engage in a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with a Sri Lanka Navy ship in the Colombo seas.
The relationship between Sri Lanka and Turkey dates back to before the founding of both modern-day nations. Formal relations began in 1864 when the Ottoman Empire appointed an honorary consul to Sri Lanka in Galle, with Ottoman honorary consuls serving in Sri Lanka until 1915.
On the evening of 9th July, a felicitation event was held aboard TCG Kinaliada for distinguished invitees and media. Addressing the gathering, H.E. Semih Lütfü Turgut, the Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye in Sri Lanka, expressed his honor in welcoming the invitees aboard the TCG Kinaliada corvette. He highlighted that Kınalıada is the first military vessel to conduct a port call to Sri Lanka since 2015, as part of its journey to Japan to commemorate the centenary anniversary of Türkiye-Japan diplomatic relations.
Ambassador Turgut also emphasized the deep-rooted relationship between Türkiye and Sri Lanka, marked by the celebration of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2023. Türkiye was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, with ties tracing back to the Ottoman Empire’s establishment of an honorary consulate in Galle in 1864. The first high-level visit to Sri Lanka was in 2005, when President H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, then Prime Minister of Türkiye, visited to show solidarity following the devastating tsunami disaster that affected the region.
H.E. Semih Lütfü Turgut’s complete speech is appended below.
Speech by H.E. Semih Lütfü Turgut, Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye
Honourable Premitha Bandara Tennakoon, State Minister of Defence,
Vice Admiral Priyantha Perera, Commander of the Navy,
Honourable Commanding Officer and crew of Kınalıada,
Distinguished members of the Sri Lankan Navy,
Excellencies,
Esteemed Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a great honour to welcome you aboard TCG KINALIADA corvette today.
Kınalıada is the first military vessel to conduct a port call to Sri Lanka since 2015, as part of its journey to Japan on the occasion of centenary anniversary of the establishment of Türkiye-Japan diplomatic relations.
For our deep-rooted relations with Sri Lanka, 2023 was an important milestone as we have celebrated the 75th anniversary of our diplomatic relations.
Türkiye was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
However, our cordial relations go further back in history, when the Ottoman Empire established an honorary consulate in Galle in 1864.
The first high-level visit to Sri Lanka was in 2005 when our President H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, then Prime Minister of Türkiye, visited Sri Lanka to show our solidarity after the devastating tsunami disaster shook the whole region.
The visit of the former Foreign Minister H.E. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in 2016 was the first Foreign Minister level visit from Türkiye to Sri Lanka. H.E. Çavuşoğlu paid another visit in 2022.
It is a pleasure to see that we have good cooperation in many areas and the bilateral relations have gained important momentum in recent years.
Our Embassy has been operational since 2013 and Turkish Airlines started its flights to Colombo in the same year.
Turkish Airlines has decided to separate its İstanbul-Male-Colombo route and started its direct flights between İstanbul and Colombo in October last year.
We believe these direct flights will contribute greatly to enhancing our people-to-people contacts and to the tourism sector of Sri Lanka.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Based on the founding principle “Peace at home, Peace in the world,” Turkish foreign policy focuses on peace and stability in its region and beyond, aiming to establish partnerships around the world for international peace and security.
Located at the crossroads of civilizations, Türkiye is the western-most country of Asia, and the eastern-most country of Europe.
Based on its profound historical and cultural ties with Asia, Türkiye seeks to strengthen its cooperation with Asian countries through the Asia Anew Initiative launched in 2019.
The initiative provides a new vision for our outlook to the Indian Ocean region as well.
In this respect, we see Sri Lanka, the pearl of the Indian Ocean, as a valuable and friendly partner in the region.
Dear guests,
As the second-largest army of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and one of the top ten military powers around the world, Türkiye has accumulated tremendous expertise in its security and defence industry sectors in the last decades.
Out of the total exports of Türkiye in 2023, which was $255,8 billion, $5,5 billion came from the defence and aerospace sector.
Built under the National Ship Project, Kınalıada is a good example of Türkiye’s capabilities in military and defence industry sectors.
Due to its geopolitical location, surrounded by conflicts and wars, Türkiye has developed these capabilities to defend itself while sharing this experience and capacity with its partners and friends around the world.
As the Republic of Türkiye embraces its second century, we are ready to cooperate with Sri Lanka based on equal partnership and mutual interests.
There are many opportunities to build on our excellent bilateral relations and extend this cooperation towards the security and defence sectors.
We hope that the visit of Kınalıada will be instrumental in further enhancing our friendly relations with Sri Lanka and promoting further cooperation in security and defence.
I would like to extend my appreciation to the Sri Lankan authorities for their warm hospitality during this visit.
Thank you for joining us today.
