TIKA built a honey production and packaging facility for beekeepers in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Honey Production and Packaging Facility, which was built by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) in Kaçuni, located in the Busovaça region of the capital Sarajevo, was opened.
In cooperation with TIKA and Kaçuni Beekeepers Association, a production facility with a closed area of 300 m² was built on a 1000 m² land in order to contribute to the processing and marketing of honey and honey products of 13 associations producing in the region.
The opening ceremony was held with the participation of the Turkish Ambassador to Sarajevo Sadık Babür Girgin, TİKA President Serkan Kayalar, Central Bosnia Canton Prime Minister Tahir Lendo, Busovaça Mayor Asim Mekiç and local beekeepers, and the first production was symbolically carried out.
In his opening speech, Kayalar stated that the beekeeping projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which started with the support of 700 beehives to 35 families in Busovaça by TIKA 15 years ago and continued with various training and support projects in the following years, were crowned with a modern facility whose construction and equipment were completely carried out by TIKA.
In his speech, Ambassador Girgin stated that TIKA extended the hand of friendship to Turkey through projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that it has implemented nearly 1100 projects to date. He wished that the abundance of the project would spread throughout the country.
Speaking at the ceremony, Lendo stated that they witnessed projects under TIKA’s signature in many parts of this canton located in the heart of Bosnia and Herzegovina and thanked them for all the support.
The project aimed to contribute to agricultural development by converting the honey produced by hundreds of producer families living in the region into income.
The facility, which has a daily honey processing capacity of 2.5 tons, will be able to process 40% of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s annual honey production.
The memory of the late Ambassador Şükrü Tufan was kept alive in the TİKA Sarajevo PKO Building
A commemorative plaque was hung in the former embassy building in the capital Sarajevo to commemorate Şükrü Tufan, who served as the Turkish Ambassador to Sarajevo during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and lost his life on April 30.
The sign hanging ceremony, held at the location where Tufan served as the Sarajevo Ambassador between 1993 and 1996 and which is currently used as the TIKA Sarajevo PKO building, was attended by the late Ambassador’s son, Ambassador Korkut Tufan, TIKA President Serkan Kayalar, Turkish Ambassador to Sarajevo Sadık Babür Girgin and TIKA Bosnia and Herzegovina Coordinator Erdinç Işık.
Korkut Tufan told reporters that his father was the first ambassador appointed to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Tufan, who stated that the embassy was first opened in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said, “When it became clear that the war would not end immediately, my father insisted, saying, ‘I cannot leave my Bosnian brothers alone,’ and came and opened the embassy here during the war. This is not only the first Turkish embassy, but also the first embassy to be opened in Sarajevo. My mother came with her at that time and they spent all those difficult days here, sharing them with their Bosnian brothers.”
TIKA President Kayalar noted that it was a very special and emotional day for them. Kayalar stated that the late ambassador Şükrü Tufan was a person who had a special place in everyone’s hearts, and said, “He is a very special name for the people of Sarajevo and our Bosnian brothers. While Sarajevo was under siege and going through very difficult times, our late ambassador and his wife served here on behalf of our country. Beyond a duty, a very special bond was established with our Bosnian brothers here. We lost him last April, but we will continue to keep his memory alive in this building where he served.”
Kayalar also stated that they will name the laboratory that will be opened by TIKA at the University of Sarajevo in the near future after Şükrü Tufan.
The late Ambassador Şükrü Tufan is known as the only ambassador who remained in Sarajevo during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995.
