Erdogan leads opening ceremony of first Arabic-language satellite channel in Turkey

At a big opening ceremony, the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, launched the inaugural broadcast of Turkey’s first Arabic-language satellite TV channel. The ceremony was attended by Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister for Mass Communication Affairs, Bulent Annc, in addition to a number of other ministers and foreign ambassadors to Ankara. Turkey’s Arab ambassadors were at the forefront.

The launch comes at a time when Arab-Turkish relations are witnessing remarkable progress. Moreover, on Saturday, the channel’s general coordinator, Safr Turan, noted that the decision to launch was belated given that Turkey shares a common history, culture, and future with Arab countries.

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The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) has deep, historical ties with a group of official Arab channels and institutions. The new channel’s Good Morning show will be broadcast from 3 Arab countries – Lebanon, Egypt, and Palestine.

The new Arabic-language channel is the second Turkish foray into non-Turkish-language broadcasting as TRT already runs their channel 6 in Kurdish. It aims at bringing the Arab and Turkish peoples together through the use of Arabic and without the need for an intermediate language such as English or French.

The new channel will present news bulletins and political programs, including a program broadcast from an Arab capital, and will address regional and international affairs. Another program will be aired from Istanbul and it will discuss political events in Turkey, as well as Turkish relations with the world in general and the Arab world in particular.

Source: Quds Press