The presidential flag of the Global Healthcare Travel Council (GHTC) was transferred to Dr. Ahmet Savaşan. Taking over the Presidency, Dr. Ahmet Savaşan explained that their main goal is to contribute to the development of health tourism on a scientific and sustainable basis and to the growth of the world health tourism market.
The flag of the term presidency of the Global Healthcare Travel Council, which was established in Monaco – Monte Carlo at 2013 and today consist of 56 countries, was presented to Dr. Ahmet Savaşan at the Kyrenia Vuni Palace Hotel Convention Center with an international ceremony participated by the delegates from USA, Azerbaijan, Belgium, China, Dubai, Morocco, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Northern Cyprus.
14 COUNTRIES ATTENDED THE PRESIDENTIAL HANDOVER CEREMONY
The Global Healthcare Travel Council Presidential Handover Ceremony was attended by delegates from 14 member countries of the Council as well as the Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Ünal Üstel, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, and Minister of Health İzlem Gürçağ Altuğra, and high-level representatives of organizations operating in the fields of tourism and health in Turkiye.
ÜSTEL: WE WILL PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THE FIELD OF HEALTH TOURISM
Speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister Ünal Üstel stated that although the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has been kept under unfair isolation for years and its ties with the world have been blocked, it has cooperated with more than a hundred countries of the world in many areas of life, especially in tourism, education and health. He emphasized that the handover of the Presidency flag by TRNC will not only increase the international visibility of the TRNC, but will also enable the development of mutual cooperation with member states.
OUR GOVERNMENT WILL SHOW SPECIAL EFFORT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTH TOURISM
Prime Minister Ünal Üstel pointed out that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus provides high standards of health services to people from more than a hundred countries who come to Northern Cyprus for many purposes such as education, tourism, business, and health, in almost all branches, whether in university hospitals, private hospitals and clinics, and state hospitals. Üstel said that health tourism in Northern Cyprus offers unique opportunities in the fields of health protection and development, as well as medical. Prime Minister Üstel added that the government will make special efforts for the development of Health Tourism during the term when TRNC will preside over the Global Healthcare Travel Council.
ATAOĞLU: OUR FULL SUPPORT TO INCREASING INVESTMENTS IN HEALTH TOURISM
Expressing that the “Flag Change Ceremony” of the Global Healthcare Travel Council will have an important place in the history of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu, in his speech, emphasized that Dr. Ahmet Savaşan has made significant contributions to the development of health tourism both in the TRNC and in the world during his vice-presidential position at the Global Healthcare Travel Council since 2018. Expressing that the Ministry of Tourism has been involved in the process and has provided support in many stages since the first day the TRNC became a member of the Global Healthcare Travel Council, Ataoğlu also emphasized that the necessary support will be given for the arrival of health tourism investments from the international arena to Northern Cyprus. At the end of his speech, Minister Ataoğlu brought together the member countries of the Global Healthcare Travel Council and the TRNC on the same platform with the Founding President Emin Çakmak and Croatia, which handed over the Term Presidency to the TRNC. He thanked all the delegates who came or could not come to Northern Cyprus for the ceremony.
ALTUĞRA: OUR MINISTRY WILL TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTH TOURISM
Pointing out that the TRNC is a country that is preferred in the field of tourism and education in the world thanks to the quality services it provides to tourists from all over the world, more than three times its population, and the quality education it provides to around 100 thousand international students, Minister of Health İzlem Gürçağ Altuğra emphasized that Northern Cyprus has the necessary features to develop in health tourism with its investments in health and touristic richness as well as the advantages it offers. Stating that they are sure that Chairman of the GHTC, Dr. Ahmet Savaşan and his team will make to the development of this field, Minister Altuğra said that the Ministry of Health will also take the necessary steps for the further development of Health Tourism in Northern Cyprus.
ÇAKMAK: THANKS TO THE PRIME MINISTER USTEL AND THE MINISTERS
The Council (GHTC) was established in Monaco Monte Carlo with the participation of Turkiye , United States of America, United Arab Emirates Dubai, United Kingdom, Estonia, Croatia, India, Nigeria, Panama, Poland, Senegal, Ukraine, Jordan and Greece, and today the number of member countries has reached to 56, Emin Çakmak, Founding and Honorary Chairman of the Global Healthcare Travel Council, said in his speech that the Presidential flag was transferred from Croatia to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus at the ceremony held with international participation. Expressing his satisfaction that TRNC Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu will be the Chairman of the High Advisory Board, Emin Çakmak said that they will be in close contact with Minister Ataoğlu to increase health tourism investments in Northern Cyprus.
HEALTH TOURISM POTENTIAL 1 TRILLION USD
Stating that the potential of World Health Tourism has reached 1 Trillion USD with 100 million traveling world citizens today, Çakmak said that they will work with Dr. Ahmet Savaşan for the TRNC to get its share of this potential. Stating that in this new period, the Turkish Healthcare Travel Council will also carry out special studies to increase the number of health tourists it sends to the TRNC through its 168 representatives in 92 countries, Emin Çakmak said that when he set out with Dr. Ahmet Savaşan in 2015, their goal was to make the TRNC a health base and that with the GHTC Presidency, Savaşan is one step closer to this goal.
WORKING TO ATTRACT INVESTORS TO TRNC
Expressing that the high success of TRNC especially in IVF (in vitro fertilization) treatments can be achieved in many other fields of health tourism and that TRNC needs to be a health island, Çakmak said that in order to attract investors to the TRNC in this new period, they will be in close contact with Dr. Ahmet Savaşan and Minister Ataoğlu.
GLOBAL COOPERATION WILL INCREASE DURING SAVAŞAN’S PRESIDENCY
Mr. Emin Çakmak, who stated that he and Dr. Ahmet Savaşan have been participating in meetings all over the world for many years in the field of Health Tourism, and that they have done much work, stated that he believes that during the Presidency of Savaşan, progress will be made in the direction of increasing global cooperation and the development of health tourism on a scientific basis. At the end of Çakmak’s speech, he thanked Prime Minister Ünal Üstel and the Ministers, and the members of the council for their sincere hospitality and their support for the GHTC Global Forum to be held in the TRNC in 2024.
SAVAŞAN; OUR GOAL IS TO ADD VALUE TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL AND INCREASE THE NUMBER OF MEMBER COUNTRIES
Dr. Ahmet Savaşan stated that the Global Healthcare Travel Council is a multinational organization that provides leadership and support to the sector in advancing health tourism policies in the international arena, advocating responsible health tourism and promoting health tourism as a driving force towards economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability, stated that the priority of the TRNC during the Presidency will be to contribute to the scientific development of health tourism, to add value to all members of the council and to increase the number of member countries.
CLOSE RELATIONS WILL BE ESTABLISHED WITH 55 COUNTRIES IN HEALTH TOURISM AND OTHER AREAS OF LIFE
Stating that the Global Healthcare Travel Council, which has acted within the framework of a comprehensive vision for the global and sustainable development of the health tourism sector since its establishment, has strengthened its capacity and effectiveness through meaningful collaborations. Dr. Ahmet Savaşan announced to the world that during the Presidency of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, they will work with each of the 55 member countries to establish sincere relations in health tourism and other areas of life.
THE HEALTH TOURISM SECTOR WILL BE SERVED AS A WHOLE
At the end of his speech, Dr. Ahmet Savaşan emphasized that they will try to serve the health tourism sector as a whole through the works to be carried out together with the representatives of the member states during the Presidency of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which was established in 1983 on the island of Cyprus, which has a deep-rooted history of 10 thousand years, and which has not lost its attractiveness for strategic, political, commercial and religious reasons for centuries. Savaşan also stated that they are determined to grow the world health tourism market economically.
