Hüseyin Emrah Kurt says his role is to promote Türkiye’s economy, culture and history.The Consul General for Türkiye, who represents his country in Western Canada, says one of his main roles is to promote his country’s deep cultural and artistic heritage and history.“In these eff orts, we work in collaboration with associations of the Turkish-Canadian community, which carry out various cultural and social activities throughout the year,” says Turkish Consul General Hüseyin Emrah Kurt.
“We attach utmost importance to these activities, which helps to increase the visibility of our county, as well as strengthens the unity and solidarity among the members of the Turkish-Canadian community and the dialogue with other communities in Vancouver.”Emrah Kurt moved to Vancouver in September, 2023, after working for almost 20-years at the Ministry of Foreign Aff airs of the Republicof Türkiye, serving in several departments of the Ministry and inTurkish missions in Iran, Germany, Greece and Pakistan. The TurkishConsulate in Vancouver fi rst opened in September 2015. Previously,Turkish citizens residing in Western Canada had to travel to Torontofor consular issues.
Strong Economy
Emrah Kurt also wants to help raise awareness of Türkiye’s robust economy and the many investment and trade opportunities it off ers. He adds, Türkiye stands out in terms of both international trade and investment due to its favorable geographical location for international trade, large domestic market, young and dynamic population, qualifi ed and competitive workforce and liberal investment environment.
Türkiye has one of the fastest growing economies in the world
Emrah Kurt says Türkiye’s strategical location provides business people easy access to large markets. Türkiye is the only non-EU country in the Customs Union of the EU, which has a market of 449 million population. As well, free-trade agreements with 30 countries provides access to populations equalling 488 million. “Therefore, investors in Türkiye have the ability to easily reach almost one billion consumers,” says Emrah Kurt. “Turkish exports climbed to $256 billion US, in 2023, the highest annual merchandise exports fi gure in the Republic’s history.”
Emrah Kurt notes, they observe a growing mutual interest in enhancing cooperation in the areas of bilateral trade and a much bigger potential in various sectors, including the metal industry, construction materials, textiles, energy and mining, machine and automotive industries, furniture, shipbuilding, processed foods and fresh produce, health tourism and IT.
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Emrah Kurt also wants to help raise awareness of Türkiye’s robust economy and the many investment and trade opportunities it offers.
Sustainable Tourism
In 2023, Türkiye hosted 56 million visitors and Istanbul topped the list for the number of international arrivals, while the city of Antalya became the fourth most visited city in the world. “Our guests have the chance to go beyond sun and sea tourism and explore the incredibly rich history, culture and natural beauty of our country,” says Emrah Kurt, who notes sustainable tourism is a growing industry in the country.
Through the Sustainable Tourism Program, which launched in 2022, Türkiye off ers a vast range of experiences for visitors who are sensitive about environmental concerns and care about recognizing and protecting local cultures. In this framework, Türkiye off ers endless opportunities in every region of the country for outdoor activities, including hiking, cycling, kayaking, paragliding and rafting.
As well, visitors interested in history, can explore 19 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and another 84 cultural treasures, which are on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites“And of course, gastronomy is also a very important component of tourism in Türkiye,” says Emrah Kurt.
“Every year millions of visitors travel to Türkiye to discover famous Turkish cuisine, which is a rich and diverse blend of fl avours infl uenced by the country’s location at the crossroads of diff erent civilizations and cultures.”
Turkish Airlines Helps Unite Canada and Türkiye
Emrah Kurt says it’s important to emphasize that the direct fl ights off ered by Turkish Airlines between Istanbul and Vancouver, which started approximately three-and-a-half years ago, makes travel to Türkiye easier than ever.“This direct connection plays a crucial role for our endeavours to facilitate and promote economic, touristic and cultural relations between our country and Western Canada.
Turkish Airlines currently operates three weekly fl ights of from Vancouver and in less than 12 hours you can reach Istanbul Airport, which is an international hub,” says Emrah Kurt. “That means, BC residents also have the opportunity to easily reach to 342 destinations in 129 countries via Istanbul Airport. We hope that this connectivity will further develop with increasing fl ight frequencies in the future.”
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Family
Emrah Kurt is joined in Vancouver by his two children and wife, Şirin Kurt, who has a professional background in international organizations working with refugees, including the UNHCR and ILO, and also as a mosaic artist. “Before I arrived, I saw from various sources that Vancouver is among the cities with the highest quality of life in the world,” says Emrah Kurt. “In the last year, my family and I have been pleased to observe this fact fi rsthand.”
The consul general says, he and his family enjoy exploring Vancouver’s multicultural, social and artistic life and the natural beauty in and around it, as much as possible. “We like to spend time at the beautiful national parks and lakes. We also enjoy discovering the restaurants in the city from a wide range of world cuisine.”And, while Emrah Kurt is enjoying sports, Şirin Kurt is also pursuing her passions. “My wife can dedicate more time in Vancouver to her art work in the fi eld of mosaic. She recently presented her art work for the first time in Vancouver in a joint exhibition with a painting artist,” he says.
Emrah Kurt notes the family takes every opportunity to explore B.C. and adds, trips taken through the Rocky Mountains and Alberta were remarkable. The family also spent their last summer holiday visiting other provinces in Canada. Emrah Kurt acts as consul general for Alberta, Saskatchewan, Yukon and Northwest Territories.“I can say that we, as a family, are very impressed by the beauty of the nature and geography of British Columbia and Canada.”
“ Before I arrived, I saw from various sourcesthat Vancouver is among the cities with the highest quality of life in the world.”
