On 22 July 2021, IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas participated as a speaker in the "Açık Oturum" programme broadcast on Medyascope. In the programme presented by Alphan Telek, the impact of Afghan refugees on business and foreign policy was discussed. The other guests of the programme were Prof. Tanju Tosun and Assoc. Prof. Polat Alpman. The increase in Afghan immigration and the expansion of  Taliban’s control across the country, especially after NATO’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, was discussed in the programme. The increase in irregular border crossings and the impact of this situation on domestic and foreign policy was emphasized. IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Nas stated that Afghan refugees have not yet been addressed as an issue in the context of Turkey-EU relations, but many EU officials are closely following the developments due to the potential risk that these transits may be headed for Europe. Nas, who pointed out that Turkey's migration and immigration policy needed to be reconsidered, also warned of the adverse effects of seeing immigrants and refugees as cheap labour in terms of insecurity and informality in economic terms. Stating that cooperation in the area of  migration was a dynamic area in Turkey-EU relations, Nas stressed that this cooperation should not be considered only as financial support and emphasized the importance of developing an approach taking into consideration  the rights of immigrants and refugees in the management of migration movements and integration of the immigrants.

A recording of the programme (in Turkish) is available here.