Turkish entrepreneurs open second school in Cambodia

The second Turkish school in Cambodia opened in a ceremony attended by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An
The second Turkish school in Cambodia opened in a ceremony attended by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An


Date posted: March 30, 2008

KADİR DİKBAŞ

The second Turkish school in Cambodia, an additional campus of the Zaman International School, which began its educational activities in 1997, was opened on Thursday in a ceremony attended by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chairman Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat.

The new campus will initially host 300 nursery and primary school students. The old campus is used to educate 700 high school students. Principal Ali Kökten told Today’s Zaman on Thursday that the Turkish school is among the leading schools in the country and that its team won the bronze medal at the Computer Olympics held last year in Romania.

Having lost hundreds of thousands of its citizens in the American bombardments during the Vietnam War and millions more in the “fields of death” during the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot period, Cambodia wants to forget its past and open a new page. For this reason, foreign investments are being fostered and opportunities for cooperation exist in all fields, from education to agriculture. Within this scope, Turkish schools have started to operate in the country.

An, speaking at the opening ceremony, congratulated the school executives for the institution’s achievements and said the country expected the opening of a university from the Turkish investors. An toured the school and watched student activities and performances. He also attended some classes and met with Turkish investors who attended the ceremony, telling them that they should start investing in Cambodia.

“Today the world needs love and peace more than ever. This school plants saplings of peace in a field of love. For this reason, I congratulate the teachers, who are the gardeners of peace and tolerance,” Fırat said. Professor Şerif Ali Tekalan, head of the Union of International Universities, said he believed “that the students of this school, which has established a bridge of love between two countries, will work for the welfare and peace of their countries and that of all humanity in the future.”

Civil Servants’ Trade Union (Memur-Sen) Ahmet Aksu expressed his appreciation for the Turkish entrepeneurs’ work. “The Anatolian people went outside and invested in these schools at a time when the state could not do it. Those who plan, undertake and support these services are heroes in the view of history,” he said.

Economic and cultural relations between Turkey and Cambodia were not noteworthy in the past due to a mutual lack of knowledge about each other; however, this changed when the first school was opened, boosting Turkey’s popularity among Cambodians.

Source: Today’s Zaman, 28 March, 2008

 

 


Related News

Erdogan in East Africa to fight against Gulen

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Tanzania on January 22 to launch a three-nation East Africa tour to crack down against Fethullah Gulen. Erdogan is targeting an international network of charities and schools affiliated with a movement run by US-based Gulen.

Erdoğan’s fight against education in Africa

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited a few African nations, among them Somalia and Ethiopia. When looking at his media mouthpieces’ coverage of the trip and his declarations, it seems the primary reason of his trip was to “tell” the African nations to close schools that were established by civil society groups and private companies affiliated with the Hizmet movement.

Wife of ‘Gülen school manager’ detained in Tbilisi asks for protection

The family of Mustafa Emre Çabuk, a manager at the Private Demirel College who was detained in Tbilisi on Turkey’s request, is asking for protection from Georgia’s State Security Service, after receiving several threats on social media with Turkish names.

Second Turkish high school for girls opens in Afghanistan

SULTAN FAIZY, HERAT The second high school for girls built by Turks in Afghanistan recently opened its doors following an official ceremony. The school, built in Herat, is a continuation of benevolent Turks’ efforts to invest in Afghanistan’s future through building schools countrywide. The first such school was opened in Kabul. The opening ceremony was […]

Sakarya court orders stay of execution on closure of Fatih Koleji

The Sakarya Administrative Court on Friday issued a stay of execution on the closure decision for Fatih Koleji, a Hizmet-affiliated school that has been running in the Beyköy district of Düzce province, saying that the school is allowed to continue to operate in the 2014-2015 education period.

Kimse Yok Mu holds iftar dinner for Thai Muslims

Kimse Yok Mu Foundation held yet another iftar dinner for Thai Muslims as a part of its Ramadan activities. Ramadan is different in Thailand from Turkey. Families choose to break their fast together with others at the mosques rather than doing it alone at home.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Festival brings Turkish arts and culture downtown

Kimse Yok Mu provides vocational training for Palestinian orphans

TUSKON: Twitter ban a disappointment in information age

Kosovo Extradition of Wanted Turkish ‘Gulenist’ Suspended

Former AK Party minister praises Turkish Olympiads

NTA Tuesday Live on Turkish Hizmet Movement in Nigerian

4th International Panel for Sharing Coexistence Experience in Korea

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News