The premier of Germany's most populous state has called for a "new chapter" in relations with Türkiye as he kicked off a three-day trip to the country Monday.
Hendrik Wüst, the conservative leader of North Rhine-Westphalia who is widely seen as a potential successor to the under-pressure Chancellor Friedrich Merz, left Dusseldorf for Ankara early Monday with a large delegation, including a high-profile business group.
Wüst was received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shortly after his arrival.
The trip is intended to mark the 65th anniversary of the 1961 recruitment agreement that allowed "guest workers" from Türkiye to work in West Germany. An estimated 3 million of Turkish origin now live in Germany, according to the Federal Statistical Office, with just over half having German nationality.
Wüst noted that one-third of people of Turkish origin in Germany live in North Rhine-Westphalia. "They are naturally part of our state," said Wüst, the first premier of the state to make an official visit to Türkiye.
The 51-year-old has consistently dismissed speculation about a challenge for the chancellor's office.
"I want to remain premier of North Rhine-Westphalia," Wüst told broadcaster ZDF on the eve of his departure, pledging to "get the federal government firing on all cylinders again."
In Ankara on Monday, Wüst was due to visit a plant belonging to Dusseldorf-based company Henkel and then the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Türkiye. A meeting with Turkish business figures was planned for the evening.
On Tuesday, Wüst will hold political talks in the capital before traveling on to Istanbul, where a business conference is scheduled along with the presentation of a prize for tolerance and reconciliation between cultures to former Germany football captain Ilkay Gündoğan.
Ahead of his departure, Wüst said he wants to "focus on the positive for stronger cooperation in future" and argued that critical questions and issues could be raised more easily within a strong and close partnership.
"No [German] region is as closely linked to Türkiye, socially and economically, as North Rhine-Westphalia," he said.
The annual trade volume between the state and Türkiye stands between 10 billion ($11.38 billion) and 12 billion euros, accounting for around 20% of total German-Turkish trade.
Wüst said there was scope to increase the figure, while calling for further development of the EU-Türkiye Customs Union, including effective mechanisms for resolving legal disputes.
"The Customs Union should be further developed, and we need well-functioning mechanisms for legal disputes so that both countries can benefit more from it," he said, according to a Turkish transcript of remarks reported by Anadolu Agency (AA).
According to the state government, more than 1,200 Turkish companies operate in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Last year, one in three flights from Germany to Türkiye took off from an airport in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Wüst said discussions about people of Turkish origin in Germany often focused too heavily on integration problems and shortcomings, arguing that the potential created by the Turkish-German community should receive greater attention.
"We should have a discussion about opportunities," he said, describing the community as a natural bridge between Türkiye and Germany.
Wüst said the state's industrial history would not have been possible without workers who arrived from Türkiye, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland and other countries.
"We should build on this legacy and create a new common economic miracle," he said, according to a Turkish transcript of remarks reported by Anadolu Agency (AA).
He highlighted the contribution of people of Turkish origin to the mining and industrial sectors as well as to Germany's postwar reconstruction and energy infrastructure.
Wüst also said the descendants of those workers now occupy positions of responsibility across German society, citing Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution President Sinan Selen, State Minister at the Foreign Ministry Serap Güler and Gonca Türkeli-Dehnert, a senior official in his own state government.
Wüst said difficulties faced by Turkish businesspeople seeking German visas were also creating an economic disadvantage for North Rhine-Westphalia.
He said some businesspeople were obtaining visas from other countries and then traveling to Germany, adding that this was not how the system should work.
"We have to achieve better results on this," Wüst said, adding that the state government was prepared to work with municipalities while also calling for better functioning of the process at Germany's Foreign Ministry.
He said Türkiye had recorded significant growth in recent years and that this was positive for both sides. North Rhine-Westphalia was open to investment from Türkiye, he added.
"Germany and North Rhine-Westphalia are a very safe place for foreign investment,” Wüst said, adding that Turkish companies were accompanying his delegation to explore investment opportunities.
