New British ambassador hails ‘very strong’ UK-Türkiye ties
ANKARA
London’s new ambassador to Ankara, Jennifer Elizabeth Anderson.
Relations between Türkiye and the United Kingdom are “very strong and growing stronger,” London’s new ambassador to Ankara said on Sept. 15, noting that she has maintained her ties with the country since completing her first posting there in 2020.
“When I first came to Türkiye, our bilateral trade volume stood at 17 billion pounds [$23 billion]. This year, that figure has reached 28.6 billion pounds. We are making significant progress,” Jennifer Elizabeth Anderson told Türkiye’s state-run Anadolu Agency in an interview conducted in Turkish.
Anderson, who previously served as deputy head of mission at the British Embassy in Ankara from 2017 to 2020, has now been appointed as the U.K.’s ambassador to Türkiye.
She formally began her tenure in Ankara after presenting her credentials to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sept. 8.
“Relations between Türkiye and the United Kingdom are very strong and are growing stronger,” Anderson said.
She noted that the two countries signed a “Strategic Partnership Framework” in April, followed by a Security and Defense Partnership Agreement in July, saying the agreements had further deepened bilateral ties.
Highlighting that negotiations on a new free trade agreement are ongoing, Anderson said cooperation between the two countries is “constantly deepening and expanding” across a wide range of areas, including migration, defense, development, science, technology and innovation, as well as the transition to green energy.
“As the British ambassador, I am determined to further advance our partnership and friendship,” she said.
Anderson also said she had studied Turkish before leaving Türkiye at the end of her previous posting, adding that she had used the opportunity to read Turkish newspapers and watch Turkish television.
“Türkiye has always been in my heart. That is why I have tried to follow developments in Türkiye as closely as possible,” she said.