Turkish culture and tourism ministe Nabi Avci makes first Israel visit since occupiers murdered our civilians... Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Nabi Avci met with Israeli officials during a regional tourism conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, marking the first Turkish ministerial visit since diplomatic ties were renewed last year.
Avci was among tourism ministers from 10 countries attending the International Mediterranean Tourism Market conference, which his Israeli counterpart Yariv Levin described as the largest hosted by Israel. "We discussed strengthening relations between the two countries," Avci said at a joint press conference.
He said the Turkish government welcomes Israeli tourists in Turkey. "There were 260,000 Israelis who visited Turkey last year and I think it is possible to raise the number to 600,000 as it was before," he said, adding that there had been 30,000 Turkish visitors to Israel. Avci said Turkey was doing all it can for achieving a peaceful solution for the Palestine-Israel conflict.
"We are exerting efforts and we are doing everything we can and we hope that our relations with Israel will contribute in making peace," he said.