Turkey to reopen closed Yemeni, Libyan embassies
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to reopen closed embassies and diplomatic missions in 2017. Details of the 2017 budget indicate that the ministry will open some of its closed embassies and diplomatic missions over the next year. Accordingly, resources have been allocated in next year's budget to reopen its embassies in the Libya, Yemen, Tripoli and the consulate general in Benghazi, which has been closed since 2014 due to security concerns. Likewise, in February 2015, Turkey suspended the operations of its embassy in Yemen and evacuated all of its diplomats due to the worsening situation in the capital Sanaa.
In May 2016, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited Libya to demonstrate Turkey's stance standing together with the Libyan people and the National Consensus government. During his visit, Çavuşoğlu started the process of reopening the Turkish embassy in Tripoli, however, the embassy has not yet been officially opened. The Turkish consulate in Mosul also closed after being raided by Daesh militants in 2014, however, the ministry has no plans to reopen this mission due to the city being under Daesh control.
In the meantime, diplomatic sources said the Foreign Ministry will establish two divisions, called the Cyber Security Operations Center (SGOM) and Cyber Security Intervention Team (SOME), to ensure the safety of the communications they have established with the foreign representatives. The ministry has also intensified its efforts to get the ISO/IEC 27001 certification, the leading data and information security standard across Europe, and is planning to get this certificate by the end of 2017.
Diplomatic sources also stated that the Foreign Ministry has started work on the renewal of the cryptosystem, which has been in used since 2002. Accordingly, the ministry will purchase Internet Protocol (IP) crypto-devices in the coming months to increase security in voice, video and data communications between the ministry and its representations across the world.
In May 2016, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited Libya to demonstrate Turkey's stance standing together with the Libyan people and the National Consensus government. During his visit, Çavuşoğlu started the process of reopening the Turkish embassy in Tripoli, however, the embassy has not yet been officially opened. The Turkish consulate in Mosul also closed after being raided by Daesh militants in 2014, however, the ministry has no plans to reopen this mission due to the city being under Daesh control.
In the meantime, diplomatic sources said the Foreign Ministry will establish two divisions, called the Cyber Security Operations Center (SGOM) and Cyber Security Intervention Team (SOME), to ensure the safety of the communications they have established with the foreign representatives. The ministry has also intensified its efforts to get the ISO/IEC 27001 certification, the leading data and information security standard across Europe, and is planning to get this certificate by the end of 2017.
Diplomatic sources also stated that the Foreign Ministry has started work on the renewal of the cryptosystem, which has been in used since 2002. Accordingly, the ministry will purchase Internet Protocol (IP) crypto-devices in the coming months to increase security in voice, video and data communications between the ministry and its representations across the world.