Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Saturday his trip to Germany was "a very successful visit in a very critical period," despite the two countries' differences, Daily Sabah reported.
Speaking at the opening of a mosque in Cologne, Erdogan said he had used his visit as an opportunity to discuss with local authorities "how to tackle racism and xenophobia."
He also met with business leaders to discuss potential investments in Turkey, he added.
"Putting aside some differences of opinion with Germany, we need to focus on joint issues," he said, citing the ongoing Syrian crisis and the the fight against the PKK terror group as areas requiring cooperation.
"Will not allow a handful of PKK and FETO (Gülenist Terror Group) sympathizer to disturb our people and harm Turkish-German friendship," Erdogan added.
"We expect a more intense effort from our European friends against terror groups," the president said.
He said the streets and squares of the European capitals should not be "polluted" anymore with the symbols of PKK.