This week's elevation of a Greece-born Turkish politician to the post of deputy prime minister has been welcomed in his hometown.
Hakan Çavuşoğlu's news was greeted warmly by fellow politicians in the city of Komotini in northern Greece.
The Western Thrace region of Greece is home to around 145,000 locals of Turkish origin.
A lawmaker from Greece's governing Syriza party, Hüseyin Zeybek, who hails from neighboring Xanthi, told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Friday that Çavuşoğlu was an experienced figure.
"We believe that Çavuşoğlu will contribute to the positive steps being taken for both the [Turkish] minority and in relations between the two countries. ... We are also trying to do the same thing here," he said.
Chairman of the Friendship, Equality and Peace Party, which represents local Turks in the region, told AA that Çavuşoğlu's new role was a great honor not only for the Turkish minority in Western Thrace, but all Turkish communities in the Balkans.
Mustafa Aliçavuş said he believes Çavusoğlu would successfully fulfill his duties as one of Turkey's five deputy prime ministers.
Çavuşoğlu was born in 1972 in Deilina, a village of Komotini, where many of his relatives remain. He became one of Turkey's deputy prime ministers in a major Cabinet reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on Wednesday.
Çavuşoğlu's 81-year-old uncle, Selim Çavuşoglu, said when he learned his nephew had become a senior minister he immediately called to congratulate him.
"He has great talent and he deserves [the post] for working hard," he said.
The minister's cousin, İdris Çavuşoğlu, also said the new minister's success was a proud moment for their family and Western Thrace.
