Turkish Honorary Consul Generals to the Caribbean at the Ankara Palace in Ankara, the capital of Turkey in June 2006. (L-R) Randall Bain, Honorary Consul General to St. Lucia ; Michael Morton, Honorary Consul General to St Kitts & Nevis and Mrs Morton; Anthony Gunn, Honorary Consul General to Dominica ; Beverley Akcayli and Tansal Akcayli, Honorary Consul General to St Vincent & the Grenadines

Effective August 1, 2006, passport holders of these Caribbean island nations traveling to Turkey are eligible to receive multiple-entry visas upon their arrival to entry points in Turkey.

These visas are valid for a period of one month [St Lucia passport visas will be valid for 3 months] and cost just US$20.

“Caribbean citizens are still also welcome to submit visa applications to the Turkish Embassies in the region [the Turkish Embassy in Havana serves these islands in this case], but the new arrangements will certainly make traveling to Turkey hassle-free,” says Randall Bain, Honorary Consul General to St Lucia .

“Turkey and the Caribbean are keen to deepen human, cultural, business and inter-country relations and are encouraging travel among each other. Caribbean citizens are very welcome to join the 22 million others who visit Turkey each year,” says Tansal Akcayli, Honorary Consul General to St Vincent & the Grenadines.

“Turkey has a long and deep history that spans thousands of years, and is the ultimate cultural bridge where East meets West. Historically, geographically and for plain old shopping, it is hard to beat Turkey,” says Michael Morton, Honorary Consul General to St Kitts & Nevis.

“We welcome tourism in both directions and also trade and investment joint ventures between Caribbean and Turkish citizens. We also encourage any Turkish citizens living in or visiting the Caribbean to get in touch with us and register,” says Anthony Gunn, Honorary Consul General to Dominica.

Turkish Ambassador to Havana and the Eastern Caribbean, Ambassador Vefahan Ocak

“The efforts to deepen and improve relations at all levels between Turkey and the Eastern Caribbean are welcome and we look forward to working to that end for the benefit of all of us,” says Ambassador Vefahan Ocak, Turkish Ambassador, accredited to several Eastern Caribbean countries.

Earlier in the summer, Turkish Honorary Consuls from all over the Caribbean and Latin America were invited to Ankara and Istanbul, and attended a week-long series of formal and informal meetings with private and public sector organisations and companies.

Abdullah Gul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey also hosted everyone, where there were very successful meetings and seminars with Ambassadors and officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In an effort to foster and deepen relations with the hemisphere, Turkey had previously announced 2006 as the Year of the Caribbean and Latin America, and the first week in June as the Caribbean and Latin America Week.