Turkey will build a mosque in Bucharest, Romania, with a capacity of 2,000 people. The building, which will stretch over some 13,000 sqm, is to be completed in three years.

In return, under an agreement signed by the two countries, Turkey will allocate a space for the construction of a church by Romania in Istanbul, reports Dailysabah.com.

The mosque was on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s agenda when he visited Romania in April this year. The project will also include a complex with a library, a Quran teaching school and recreational facilities.

The building will be located in one of Bucharest’s central districts. Romanian authorities approved the allocation of the land for 49 years.

Bucharest already hosts ten buildings used as mosques, but this will be the first genuine mosque in Romania’s capital, reports Dailysabah.com. Some 100,000 Muslims live in Romania.

The mosque in Bucharest is not the only such building built by Turkey in the Balkans. In May this year, the Turkish President laid the foundation of a mosque in Tirana, Albania. Moreover, Turkey also repairs old mosques in the Balkans, through the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA).

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com