Turkey’s Chief Negotiator in the accession talks with the European Union, Egemen Bağış was a guest on the GAU TV News Programme ‘Aktuel’ where he was interviewed by host Simge Özekler. Bağış said that has watched the development of GAU very carefully and that GAU “calls for peace in the world” with over 6,000 students from 68 countries and that GAU embraces 68 different cultures and that this is very important for North Cyprus. He also said that he was honoured be awarded an honorary PhD by GAU, the result of the active diplomacy in recent years. He said that efforts by the Turkish President Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the other diplomats, mean Turkey and North Cyprus will “walk together towards a bright future.”

Bağış congratulated GAU’s on its 25th anniversary and said the other Campuses of GAU in Canterbury and Singapore are very important for the island as well. He said that when students from GAU become successful and take part in the political, academic and commercial world or in non-governmental organisations, all the obstacles facing North Cyprus will be overcome more easily.

Bağış also said that he has full confidence in GAU, which started with just 50 students but now has more than 6,000 students from 68 different countries. He stated that GAU is one of the best examples of determination and said if the alumni and current GAU students show the same level of determination nothing can stop Turkey and North Cyprus reaching a bright future.

Egemen Bağış emphasized that 8 years ago Turkey was the 27th largest economy in the world but with determination Turkey is currently listed as the 16th largest economy in the world and 6th largest in Europe. He congratulated everyone who has supported the development of GAU.