Egemen Bağış's first comment on his successor Feyzioğlu: His next assignment remains unclear

Former Union of Turkish Bar Associations President Metin Feyzioğlu has been appointed as Turkey's Ambassador to Prague. It is not yet clear what position Prague Ambassador Egemen Bağış will be assigned to.

Sözcü columnist Saygı Öztürk included Bağış's first statement following the change at the Prague Embassy in his column today.

The message Bağış sent to those around him is as follows:

"My term of office here has expired, and since it was even extended by one year, I am handing over my duties to a new colleague in accordance with customs and our state tradition. With the support of our esteemed President, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, and all our citizens living in Czechia, and thanks to the strength and support they provided, we have, thank God, achieved great services in Prague.

We increased the bilateral trade volume from 3 billion dollars to 6.5 billion dollars in four years. As all our citizens in Czechia can confirm, we tried to reach out to and help everyone without making any distinctions among our people, and we moved the Embassy to a modern and well-equipped embassy building worthy of our glorious flag. For the first time in Europe, we opened a park bearing our country's name in Prague. We ensured that Czechia's largest companies invested in our country.

"WE WILL CONTINUE WITH DILIGENCE"

When we started our duty in Prague in 2019, we facilitated the establishment of strategic partnerships between the defense industry companies of the Czech Republic—which was one of the 8 European Union member countries that imposed an embargo on our country in the defense industry—and their equivalent organizations in our country.

Finally, at our July 15 event, we not only convinced former Czech President Mr. Vaclav Klaus to be a speaker and make a statement praising Turkish democracy, but we also ensured that the text of his speech was published as an article in the country's highest-circulation newspaper.

There will be no change in our path in the process ahead. As someone who lives with the honor and pride of doing his duty properly in every position, just as we have throughout our lives, we will continue to perform whatever duty is assigned to us in the point of serving our country, our state, and our nation, after making the necessary consultations, with the same spirit, excitement, and diligence as always.”