PM: ‘I want to see students go to Turkey’

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves has confirmed that he will make an official visit to the secular Islamic State of Turkey next month. He has also reiterated that a request for scholarships will be high on his agenda.

“I want to see students go to Turkey in September,” Dr Gonsalves said at the official site opening ceremony of the Barrouallie Secondary school last Tuesday.{{more}}

Dr Gonsalves had previously announced that he had received an invitation from President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who is in the last year of his seven year Presidential term.

Dr Gonsalves said that while some may criticize his government’s policy of sending students all over the world to study, it was all part of his government’s “education revolution.”

“It will be tremendous to have Vincentians studying all over the world, Turkey is a country of seventy eight million people, it will be a wonderful opportunity for our young people,” he said.

Dr Gonsalves had previously noted that Turkey’s strategic location made the opportunity to study there an even more rewarding situation for Vincentian students.

“I want my young people to be all over the world, get all sorts of experiences, all kinds of knowledge,” he said recently.

Turkey borders eight countries including Bulgaria to the northwest, Greece to the west, Georgia to the northeast, Iran to the east and Iraq and Syria to the Southeast.

Dr Gonsalves has also described Turkey as a country that was developing into an economic powerhouse. Turkey is a member of the G20, which brings together the 20 largest economies of the world.