Turkey, Germany sign deal to fight migrant smuggling and terrorism

Europe, News February 24, 2016 , by IRIA No Comments

Turkey and Germany signed joint declarations of intent on bilateral cooperation regarding the fight against refugee smuggling and terror.

Turkey and Germany have signed joint declarations of intention concerning cooperation on migration, border police, human smuggling and the fight against terrorism. At the same time, Berlin has also pressed Ankara to take back migrants trying to cross the Aegean Sea.

The deputy undersecretary of the Turkish Interior Ministry Mehmet Tekinarslan and the German ambassador in Turkey Martin Erdmann signed the joint declarations of intent on Tuesday.

Three separate declarations were signed by German Ambassador to Turkey Martin Erdmann and Turkish Interior Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Mehmet Tekinarslan on Feb. 23, the German Embassy in Ankara announced.

The two held a joint press conference following their meeting and gave signals of cooperation about Syrian refugees.

“We believe that the cooperation will provide important contributions for the two countries,” Tekinarslan said.

Ambassador Erdmann said the cooperation between Turkey and Germany needed to be improved in order to effectively fight migrant smuggling and prevent illegal border crossings in the Aegean Sea.

“These documents constitute the foundation of intensified cooperation between the Interior Ministry of Germany and the Interior Ministry of Turkey. More intense sharing is foreseen between related officials, especially in terms of the cooperation between experts on border management, illegal migration and the fight against terrorism,” the German Embassy in Ankara said in a statement.

The move comes two weeks after German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Ankara and discussed the refugee crisis with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Turkey and Germany signed on Tuesday a joint declaration of intent on bilateral cooperation regarding the fight against refugee smuggling and terror. AA photo

Deputy undersecretary of Turkish Interior Ministry Mehmet Tekinarslan and the German ambassador in Turkey Martin Erdmann sign the joint declarations of intent. – AA Photo

More than 100,000 refugees have illegally reached Greece from Turkey in 2016, according to the International Organization for Migration. Most of them hope to end up in Western Europe, namely in Germany.

Turkey has spent nearly $10 billion of its own resources on the refugees whose number in the country has been climbing to 2.7 million people.