News from Berlin - This year has been particularly relevant for the scientific relationship between Germany and Turkey. On January 23^rd in Berlin Johanna Wanka, German Minister for Education and Research, and Fikri Işık, Minister for Sciences, Industry and Technology of the Republic of Turkey, signed the cooperation agreement for research, education and innovation for 2014.

The Turkish-German University (TDU) in Istanbul is going to give this partnership a greater impact. The common project was started in 2008 but the university was officially opened on April 29^th by Johanna Wanka and Turkish President Abdullah Gül. It contains five faculties: Law and Natural Sciences, Economy, Culture and Social Sciences and Engineering, offering Bachelor, Master and PhD degrees. Besides this there is also the German-Turkish Advanced ICT Research Center, which has been established in both Istanbul and Berlin.

The excellent relationship between the two countries can certainly be based on the high percentage of Turkish citizens in Germany (more than 1,7 million), to add to the large population of German people with Turkish roots. This means of course that the two countries have a very close economic relationship. More than 5,600 German companies have establishments in Turkey, which involves great investments and development opportunities for them.

The scientific exchange between the two countries has already been in action since 1951, thanks to the numerous German-Turkish partnerships between high schools and universities. Furthermore, since 1984 the TÜBITAK (Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council) and the DFG (German Research Society) have worked together. This university common project will therefore constitute a milestone in the story of the two countries.

News from Berlin - Berlin Global