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Turkish body to mark 60th anniversary of labour migration to Germany

3 years ago
BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 02: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attend a panel discussion at a celebration to mark 50 years of Turkish immigration to Germany at the Foreign Ministry on November 2, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. On October 30, 1961 Turkey and what was then West Germany signed an agreement that paved the way for the migration of Turkish "guest workers" to Germany. Germany in the early 1960s, which in many ways was still recovering from the devastation of World War II, required foreign labour to fill its industrial workforce, and the influx of immigrants from Turkey, Italy, Greece and other south European countries made Germany’s "economic miracle" possible. Today large numbers of Germans with Turkish roots are an integral part of German society, though integration and assimilation remain a contentious issue, especially for more recent Turkish immigrants. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attend a panel discussion at a celebration to mark 50 years of Turkish immigration to Germany at the Foreign Ministry on November 2, 2011 in Berlin, Germany [Sean Gallup/Getty Images]

Turkey’s body for Turks abroad and related communities is preparing to hold events to mark the 60th anniversary of the country’s labour force agreement with Germany, it said on Thursday, reported by Anadolu News Agency.

In a written statement, the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) said it would celebrate the agreement, signed between the two countries on 30 October, 1961, in an event at the Turkish Embassy in Berlin.

Abdullah Eren, head of the YTB, said in the statement that the initial deal had been limited to a specific time period but that things took a different turn as Turkish people, who went to Germany for economic reasons, remained there.

Underlining that there have been success stories through the years of Turkish people in Germany, Eren went on to say that the Turkish State always stood by its citizens in times of need and that, now, his organization was preparing to mark the sixth decade of the deal.

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