President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, with a replica of the letter sent by German Emperor Wilhelm I to Sultan Abdülhamid II on January 26, 1884.
President Erdoğan and President Steinmeier of the Federal Republic of Germany met at the Presidential Complex.
President Erdoğan presented Steinmeier a replica of the letter German Emperor Wilhelm I sent to Sultan Abdülhamid II in 1884, expressing his delight with the medals bestowed upon him and his desire for the continuation of friendly relations between the two countries, as well as the "German-Turkish Dictionary" (Deutsch-Türkisches Wörterbuch) authored by Ömer Faik and published by Matbaa-i Osmaniye (the Ottoman Printing House) in Istanbul in 1898.
The German Emperor Wilhelm I wrote to Sultan Abdülhamid II the following:
"Your Majesty, esteemed, powerful, and sincere companion, I received your gracious correspondence from Said Pasha stating that in recognition of our amicable relations, the gold and silver medals of the Order of the Supreme Privilege were bestowed on this occasion. I would like to extend my gratitude to Your Highness for designing to honour me with high-minded compliments and for conveying these tokens of friendship in the most exquisite manner via the aforementioned envoy. In reciprocation, I extend my profound affection and sincere friendship, along with my sincere wishes and prayers for your continued longevity, prosperity, joy, and the perpetual strength of the Ottoman sultanate, to your eminent self. It is with sincere intention that I declare my desire to enhance the amicable relations that are already in place between the Ottoman Porte and the German state.
I wish to extend my deepest affection and cordial regard to Your Majesty the Sultan, and I beseech the Almighty God to ensure your continued existence through His aid."