Turkey expands consular aid abroad, raises diaspora concerns

Turkey's Foreign Ministry held a meeting of the Sub‑Committee on Turks Living Abroad and Kin Communities, highlighting 68 attacks on Turkish religious sites worldwide and condemning Greece's decision to close eight Turkish minority primary schools in Western Thrace as a breach of international law. The committee, chaired by AK Party MP Seda Gören, pledged to monitor and support affected Turkish citizens and to defend their educational rights.

In parallel, the ministry announced a push to digitalise consular services for the estimated 7.5 million Turkish citizens living overseas. The rollout includes a new online Emergency Notification Form accessible via e‑Gov, a multilingual call centre, an AI‑powered chatbot and expanded online processing. With 264 diplomatic missions and 99 consulates, the reforms aim to speed up assistance for lost documents, theft, natural disasters and other emergencies. Recent upgrades at the Kapıkule border crossing, such as biometric passport readers and AI‑based risk analysis, have cut waiting times dramatically and handled over 47 000 daily travellers.

Together, these steps signal Turkey's effort to strengthen support for its diaspora while confronting challenges to minority rights abroad.