Parliament speaker Sahin welcomes visiting German lawmakers

Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Sahin yesterday hosted a luncheon for the visiting president of the German state Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia, Eckhard Uhlenberg, and the delegation accompanying him in Parliament. Sahin called Turkish citizens in Germany an inseparable part of the country, adding that the Turkish presence there also has the potential to improve German-Turkish relations. He said some Turks in Germany he has spoken with expressed issues with integration, but that since then talks between German and Turkish officials led to steps to address these issues. Uhlenberg, for his part, said he hopes Turkish and German ties will further improve, adding that in addition to visits at the presidential or prime ministerial levels, visits between deputies are also very important for this. There are a great many Turks in North Rhine-Westphalia, he said, adding, "We consider them our own." Uhlenberg said successful integration can only happen with mastery of the German language, pointing to measures German authorities have taken to enable immigrants to learn German.