Turkey believes that relations and dialogue between the Turkish and German governments will continue in a strong manner, Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop said Wednesday during a meeting with the vice president of the German parliament, Aydan Özoğuz, in the capital Ankara.
Özoğuz is the first ethnic Turkish politician to assume the top role.
Şentop noted he was very pleased that people of Turkish and immigrant-origin held political positions in the countries they lived in.
He said relations between Turkey and Germany were based on strong foundations.
"We believe that relations and dialogue between the Turkish and German governments will continue in a strong manner, as it was during the period of (former German Chancellor) Angela Merkel."
Özoğuz, a federal lawmaker since 2009, is widely seen as one of the most experienced politicians in her party.
In 2013, she became the first Turkish and Muslim politician serving as a minister in a federal government. Until 2018, she was the state minister for immigration, refugees and integration.
In a recent workshop held by the Turkish Presidency's Security and Foreign Policy Committee, it was emphasized that Turkish-German relations in the areas of security, the economy and foreign policy should reach higher levels by focusing on common interests and a positive agenda.
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.
