Director-General of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Mehmet Gormez met with Hilaluddin Chen Guangyuan, the president of China Islamic Association, in Ankara on Thursday.
Gormez told a joint press conference following the meeting, “we have set up cooperation ties with 81 Muslim countries and communities so far, but we did not have any relation with the Muslim community in China. Now, president of China Islamic Association which represents 23 million Chinese Muslim people is in Ankara on a formal visit.”
“Both Turkey and China are countries representing great civilizations in their history. We are marking 40th anniversary of Turkey-China political relations. Our political and economic relations have gained momentum in recent years,” he said.
“During the meeting, we agreed that Chinese students can attend religious high schools and faculties of Islamic theology in Turkey. We also agreed that we could work together to improve inter-religious and inter-cultural relations. Chinese Muslims can benefit from Turkey’s experiences about hajj and umrah,” he added.
Guangyan, on his part, described Turkey as a beautiful and sincere country, adding that their visit aimed at consolidating friendly relations between the two countries and setting up cooperation ties with Turkey’s Religious Affairs.
We need to cooperate with Turkey especially in education and hajj, he said.
Source: WorldBulletin