Deputy PM Yazici opens Bilge Khan highway in Mongolia

Deputy Prime Minister Hayati Yazici and State Minister Said Yazicioglu, who are currently paying an official visit to Mongolia, over the weekend inaugurated the 46-kilometer long Bilge Khan Highway which was constructed by the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA). Speaking at the ceremony, Yazici said that the words "Turk" and "Turkish" first appeared in the nearby Orhun Monuments, built in the late seventh and early eighth centuries. "These monuments carry great importance for all Turkic people living all over the world," he added. Yazicioglu said Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan laid the foundation for the highway in 2005, adding that it would draw more visitors to the region. In addition to building the Bilge Khan highway connecting Hoso Saydam with Karakurum, where the Orhun Monuments are located, TIKA also constructed a museum to protect the monuments. Yazici and Yazicioglu yesterday also inaugurated a street named after Ankara and a bust of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the capital city Alaanbaator in front of a school also named for Ataturk. The two officials were also received by Mongolian Prime Minister Sanjaa Bayar and later met with Parliament Speaker Damdin Demberel.