The mixed Turkish-German Parliamentarians meeting was held in Germany’s capital Berlin on Thursday with the participation of deputies from different parties.
The Ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) lawmakers Akif Çağatay Kılıç, Zafer Sırakaya, Muhammed Fatih Toprak, opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmakers Oğuz Kaan Salıcı, Ahmet Ünal Çeviköz, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) lawmaker Arzu Erdem, Good Party (IP) lawmaker Ahmet Kamil Erozan and lawmakers from other Turkish political parties attended the meeting.
The German government’s culture commissioners Claudia Roth and Katja Keul also attended the meeting, which was held to further boost Turkey-Germany relations.
The parliamentarians are expected to meet again in the summer or fall in Turkey.
Ankara and Berlin are major trading partners, as Germany has been a top Turkish import source and export destination for decades. The two countries also share deep cultural ties due to Germany's 5 million-strong Turkish diaspora. In addition, Turkey is among the top tourism destinations for Germans, apart from hosting thousands of German expatriates.
Among other potential issues on the table are the migration issue, human rights and Turkey's role in NATO. Turkey plays a key role in accepting refugees. The country has already taken in around 3.7 million refugees from Syria and hundreds of thousands of migrants from other countries, such as Afghanistan.
