Emirhan Yorulmazlar, the Turkish consul general in London, held a reception last week for Turkish students studying at British universities.
Some of the country’s top universities – including Oxford, Cambridge and the London colleges – were represented at the event, which saw around 100 students attend.
Mr Yorulmazlar told the students that there were around 300,000 Turkish citizens living in the UK and told them: “The consulate building is Turkish territory. As I have consistently said since I began this role: our doors are always open to our citizens.”
Senior officials from the consulate, including consuls Fatih Topçu and Murat Nalçacı, as well as officials Reyhan Yılmaz and Fatih Tetik, were present at the reception. There was also representation from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, including the consul Mustafa Kemal Beyazbayram, and the education attachés for Turkey and Turkish Cyprus respectively, Necip Demirci and Hasan Sarper Kortay.
Around 3,500 Turkish students are estimated to be studying in the UK. Home Office figures show that Turkish students are in list of three top nationalities enrolled on six or 11-month short term courses.