Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu began his three-day visit to the U.K. yesterday to discuss with his British counterpart David Cameron issues important to both countries. The two leaders are expected to assess developments in Syria and Iraq. Cameron, who had visited Turkey on December 9, and Davutoğlu, will also talk about coordination of efforts to prevent foreign fighters from joining the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
During his visit last month Cameron called for more intelligence sharing between the two countries to block the flow of foreign fighters, including British citizens, into Syria to join ISIS ranks.
He said: "Whether it is about stopping people coming through Turkey to Syria or Iraq to fight for [ISIS], whether it is about making sure we deal with people when they return; whether it is the highest level of intelligence cooperation that we can possibly achieve between our countries. This is all about making sure people are safer in Turkey and in the U.K. We are already strong and should get stronger."
Alongside meetings with British officials, Davutoğlu will also participate in the forum Istanbul: Regional Hub, Global Actor, which was organized by Borsa Istanbul and the Turkish Exporters Assembly in cooperation with the Istanbul Financial Center Initiative. At the forum he will also participate in a signing ceremony that will be held for the partnership agreement between Borsa Istanbul and the London Stock Exchange.
Davutoğlu will also make a speech addressing many politicians, academics, diplomats, members of the press and other important figures in Wilton Park, a prominent think tank in the U.K. The institution is known for its research focusing on issues of international security, conflict resolution and peacemaking. Davutoğlu will also meet with representatives of Britain's Turkish society.
During his visit to Turkey in July 2010, Cameron described Turkey-U.K. relations by saying: "Turkish-British relations are in their golden age." Considering the U.K.'s support for Turkey's EU bid and alliance over some issues such as stopping the flow of foreign fighters to ISIS within a close alliance in the Middle East, it seems as if this expression is still valid.
The 2010 Strategic Partnership Document that was also signed during Cameron's aforementioned visit to Turkey constitutes a road map laying out a wide range of concrete areas of cooperation to strengthen the strategic partnership. As another significant component of both countries' relations, the Turkish-British Tatlı Dil Forum (Sweet Talk Forum) consisting of politicians, academics, media representatives and artists from both countries was established in 2011.
The first and second meetings of the forum took place in October 2011 in the U.K. and in October 2012 in Istanbul, respectively, and the third and fourth meetings were held in November 2013 in Edinburgh and in November 2014 in Istanbul again.
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