King’s Office Correspondents
ANTALYA, TURKIYE: His Majesty the King has pledged the country’s full support for plans to establish a Turkish international school in Eswatini.
The school, which is to be established by the Maarif Education Foundation, will match the high standards of Waterford kaMhlaba.
The foundation has established relations with 104 countries, created representative offices in 52 and currently has activities in 67 countries.
His Majesty the King met the foundation’s President, Birol Akgun, on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum meetings on Saturday.
He thanked the foundation for the good work they are doing on the African continent.
“You are yet to start work in the Kingdom of Eswatini and we have come prepared to offer you all the support you will require. Before coming here, I met with the Turkish Ambassador to the Kingdom based in Pretoria, South Africa, who told me about the good work you are doing. We have already made arrangements and identified the site where you will build your school.
“We will be guided by you as to how much land you will require for your operations. It is our desire as a country to create another international school in the mold of Waterford KaMhlaba that is going to accommodate international students,” the King said.
His Majesty stated that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in their private meeting on Friday, was also keen on this project being a success.
“We will be happy for your foundation to consider opening its head offices in the Kingdom. The Memorandum of Understanding you will sign today will go a long way in paving the way for the project to kick off,” the King said.
President Akgun explained to the King that the foundation was established in 2016 through an Act of Parliament to provide educational services abroad. As a non-profit public educational foundation, TMF is entitled to run institutions from pre-school to higher education.
He said they have schools in Johannesburg, Cape Town and a number in African countries.
The Turkey Maarif Foundation possesses nine training centres in Afghanistan, Germany, Austria, France, Kosovo, Belarus and Belgium; one university in Albania; and 42 dormitories across the globe.
Its activities continue in 332 schools, universities and education centres within 43 countries, with a total of approximately 40 000 students. The foundation employs a total of 7,327 staff members abroad, including 405 Turkish citizens. Apart from the current educational activities, 65 different protocols have been signed to open new schools. The Turkish Maarif Foundation serves as a gateway to the international educational arena of Turkey and will contribute to enhancing cultural and civilizational interaction and paving the way for achieving common wellbeing.
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Pholile Shakantu signed the MoU with the foundation on behalf of the Kingdom, accompanied by the country’s Ambassador to Brussels, who also covers Turkey, Sibusisiwe Mngometulu.
