Speaking at an official dinner hosted by Turkish President Abdullah Gul at the Cankaya Presidential Palace in Ankara, Fischer said there were almost 180,000 citizens of Turkish origin living in Austria who contributed to the cultural diversity and commercial success his country.
Turkey had put in place many significant reforms over the past six years, he said and was an active country in dialogue between cultures and civilizations, which Fischer said was very important for Austria.
Gul said that was pleased to see that many European statesmen, politicians, thinkers and businessmen were looking on Turkey’s EU membership with favor without getting into narrow-minded domestic politics.
“Turkey, an EU-candidate country, will become a country that fulfilled its reforms and upgraded its standards to EU level, once the full membership negotiations, a long process which started with contributions of Austria, are completed successfully,” said Gul. “Such a Turkey would bring political, economic and social gains for the Union with its strategic location, dynamic population and great economic potential.”
