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Turkey seeks stronger ties with Uganda
The writer (second left) was part of a group of Ugandan journos who toured Turkey recently
To some students of history Turkey passes for the weak man of Europe, but also for its economic, cultural, geopolitical importance.
According to the World Bank, Turkey has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $786 billion, [almost 30 times that of Uganda] which makes it the 18th largest economy in the world. Thanks to political stability and industrial expansion, the incomes of the Turkish people have more than tripled in less than a decade and now exceeds $10,000.
Turkey is three times the size of Uganda in geographical size, with a population of about 77 million people. This means their population density is lower than that of Uganda given that Uganda’s population stands at about 35 million people.
On May 10, 2015, a group of Ugandan journalists left for Turkey where they were privileged to visit Ankara, the capital and Istanbul the commercial city of Turkey. The group, led by the government spokesperson Ofwono Opondo met with Uganda’s Ambassador to Turkey Johnson Olwa as well as Ugandan students in Turkey.
Ambassador Olwa informed the group that some 5000 Ugandans live in Turkey where they engage in different jobs from which they manage to send home some money to cater for families.
He however noted that the majority have not registered with the Embassy and thus encouraged them to register themselves so that they could be helped as and when they get challenges.
The rectangular-shaped country, is sometimes referred to as Eurasia because of it lies on two continents – Europe and Asia. Istanbul the commercial hub of Turkey is city that has the most rear feature of being located in two continents that some residents joke that they cross continents to go to work.
According to statistics obtained from the Turkish Ministry of Health, the life expectancy of the people of Turkey is now 75 years, thanks largely to the country’s success story in reducing the infant mortality rate and the number of mothers that die during child birth. This is further boosted by the availability of health insurance programme enjoyed by most nationals.
Now, according to Rukia Nakamatte, the Public Relations Officer of Uganda’s Ministry of Health, Uganda wants to learn from Turkey’s advances in the health sector. And the government of Turkey has agreed to train Uganda’s health workers as a way of supporting Uganda.
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