Cicek receives Ansari

Indian Vice President Hamid Ansari yesterday visited Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek at his office at the Parliament. Following the face-to-face meeting, an inter-delegation meeting was held, after which Cicek said that both India and Turkey were the two key countries which have an important role to play to ensure peace and stability in their respective regions. Cicek added that development of relationships between these two key countries would be beneficial to them, as well as vitally important in terms of peace in the region and world. Speaking in his part, Ansari said that both Turkey and India were new countries enjoying an old civilization, adding, "Today there are three basic values which unite us, namely, democracy, secularism and parliamentarian democracy." He added that doors of India and Turkey were open to the entire world, where doors were usually closed. Furthermore, Cicek presented to him a framed picture of Dr. Muhtar Ahmed Ansari, who has provided Turkish soldiers with medical treatment in Turkey during the First Balkan War.