SARAJEVO (AA) - September 16, 2012 - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan received an award on behalf of Ottoman statesman Isa-Beg Ishakovic, founder of Bosnian capital Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday.
Delivering a speech at the ceremony, Erdogan said that Sarajevo had a different spirit and atmosphere among all cities in the world. "Sarajevo is a bit Cairo, a bit Beirut, Damascus and Baghdad. Sarajevo is a bit Paris, London and a bit New York. Sarajevo has a similar spirit and atmosphere with Istanbul, Edirne, Bursa and Konya. It is Sarajevo, a city of Balkans."
Sarajevo was one of the most colorful cities in the world, he said.
Although the city suffered from great pains in the recent history, it has become a symbol of friendship and peace today, he went on saying.
Erdogan said that he believed that Bosnia-Herzegovina would join the EU in the shortest time of period, but the country should ensure stability in order to be a member of the EU. Stability was a must to attract international investments, he said.
Premier Erdogan said that Turkey secured stability, peace and tranquility and its economy tripled in the last decade.
