The event took place at the Yenikapı station of the Marmaray railway, which runs beneath the Bosphorus Strait, linking the European and Asian parts of the city, a project completed by a Japanese-Turkish consortium.

Enver İskurt, Türkiye’s Deputy Transport and Infrastructure Minister, expressed optimism about the potential for future collaboration between the two nations.

«In the coming period, I believe we will engage in more collaboration, particularly in sectors such as transportation, energy, tourism, and health, further solidifying our friendship,» he stated.

Notable attendees included Japan’s Deputy Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Amakawa Hirofumi, Japan’s Ambassador to Ankara Katsumata Takahiko, and Yalçın Eyigun, General Director of Infrastructure Investments at Türkiye’s Transport and Infrastructure Ministry.

İskurt underscored the importance of the Marmaray project, a fulfillment of a 150-year-old vision, highlighting it as a testament to the engineering and technological partnership between Japan and Türkiye. He noted the railway’s impact on Istanbul’s transportation network, carrying around 650,000 passengers daily and achieving nearly 1.2 billion passenger trips to date.

Acknowledging Japan’s contribution to Türkiye’s industrial development, İskurt pointed out that over 200 Japanese firms have operations in the country.