For the trainees who are successful in the accelerated face to face Turkish courses initiated by Mogadishu Yunus Emre Institute in cooperation with Mogadishu Somalia Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Training and Research Hospital for doctors who will get specialty training in medicine in Somalia, a Certificate Presentation Ceremony was held at the Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu on March 10, 2022. Certificates of 44 candidates of specialized doctors who are eligible for certification at the B1 level, were awarded by Ambassador of Turkey Hon. Mehmet Yılmaz, The Federal Government of Somalia’s (FGS) Minister of Education Hon. Abdullahi Abukar Haji, FGS Minister of Defence Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur and FGS Minister of Women and Human Rights Developments Hon. Hanifa Mohamed Ibrahim and representatives of Turkish institutions operating in Mogadishu.

THE VISIT OF PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN PREPARED THE GROUND FOR COOPERATION

Ambassador of Turkey to Mogadishu, Mehmet Yılmaz, addressed the guests by saying about the gaining acceleration of Turkey-Somalia relations with the historical visit of our President Hon. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the drought disaster in Somalia in 2011, the relations that started with humanitarian aid activities have been mutually exchanged between the countries in the past 11 years, from investment and trade to health, experience sharing to education and culture, thanked Turkish and Somali people, institutions and organizations operating in these fields.

“EDUCATION AND LANGUAGE LEARNING IMPROVE MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING"

The Hon. Ambassador stated that education and language learning, in particular, improve mutual understanding between countries and cultures; Turkish institutions such as the Yunus Emre Institute, Mogadishu Somalia-Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Training and Research Hospital,  Health Sciences University Somalia-Mogadishu Recep Tayyip Erdogan Faculty of Health Sciences, Turkish Maarif Foundation and Turkey Diyanet Foundation offer on-site education opportunities to Somalis, and there are many Somali students currently studying in Turkey, both through Türkiye Scholarships program and through personal opportunities, and against this backdrop, hoped that mutual understanding, cooperation, and relations between our countries would continue to increase. The Hon. Ambassador concluded his remarks by thanking Yunus Emre Institute and Mogadishu Somali-Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Training and Research Hospital, which organize Turkish courses for specialist doctor candidates, and congratulating the doctors who learn Turkish.

FGS Minister of Education, Abdullahi Abukar Haji, pointed out that they agreed with the words of the Ambassador that education and culture are important for improving mutual understanding and cooperation between countries and this education needs to be planned according to the mutual needs of the countries, and in this regard, he stated it is admirable that the education in an important field, such as health, is given in Somalia. Emphasizing the importance of a good knowledge of Turkish by specialist doctors for the quality of specialty education in medicine, Minister thanked Yunus Emre Institute and Mogadishu Somalia-Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Training and Research Hospital for their joint project with the Teaching Turkish Program. Minister concluded his remarks by saying that specialist doctor candidates need to take seriously the training opportunity they obtained, to educate themselves well in the professional field because Somali people need them and expect their service.

“BESIDE TURKISH, WE MET NEW PEOPLE, A NEW COUNTRY AND A NEW CULTURE"

Representing the specialist doctor candidates, Dr. Yahye Abshir Nur, expressed herself as follows: ‘’We didn’t just learn Turkish. Besides Turkish, we met new people, a new country, and a new culture. Thanks to Turkish, we had a great opportunity to practice our profession as a doctor in the best way and to be beneficial to our people. ‘’We are grateful for these opportunities.’’ Dr. Abdirisak Abdikarin Ahmed said, ‘’It is not easy to learn a foreign language in a short time like five months. However, we would like to thank our teachers who taught us Turkish in such a short time and so well, and Yunus Emre Institute and Hospital administration.  We would also like to express our gratitude to the Turkish government and the people at the Institute and the Hospital.’’

At the end of the ceremony, the specialist doctor candidates who received their certificates had the opportunity to talk with the Ambassador, Hon. Ministers and representatives of Turkish institutions operating in Mogadishu, accompanied by refreshments consisting of Turkish cuisine.

Since the beginning of its activities in 2017, Mogadishu Yunus Emre Institute has taught Turkish to approximately 2000 people in courses inside and outside the Institute. Apart from the courses it organizes within the Mogadishu Turkish Cultural Center, the Institute also provides lecturers and materials for the Somalia Turkish Task Force (STGK) Command in Mogadishu and the Health Sciences University Somalia-Mogadishu Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Institute, which aims to make Turkish and Turkey more accessible to all segments of Somali society, by keeping close contact with local official institutions and non-government organizations that provide free education to disadvantaged groups, especially orphans in Mogadishu on teaching Turkish, in the academic year of 2022, Turkish language started to teach Turkish as an elective course at the middle and high school levels in the mentioned institutions, with the teacher and teaching materials provided to 3 non-profit institutions consisting of Boondheere Orphan Girls Center, Kaaraan Orphan Boys Center and Banadir Orphans and Students Center.

In the following days, the institute plans to increase its efforts to promote the Turkish language and culture in Somalia.