Honorable Ministers,

Esteemed Undersecretaries,

Distinguished Representatives,

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me first welcome and salute you all and say that I am truly honored to host this dinner this evening on the occasion of the Turkey-Pacific Island States Ministerial Conference. I would like to thank you all for coming to İstanbul to share your experiences and concerns. Having the privilege to host such an eminent group of friends here in Turkey, is truly an exciting moment for me. I know that it has been a long journey for many of you, but I hope we will all benefit from this meeting and I hope that you will enjoy your stay in Turkey. At the end of the day I hope all of you think of this conference as a worthy endeavour.

With its unique location and rich history, with its democratic political structure, secularism and dynamic economy as well as its lively cultural life and its peace-seeking diplomacy, Turkey today is a center of attraction in its region and a credible and respected member of the international community. This is the result of decades of tireless efforts undertaken by our nation geared to attaining the “contemporary level of civilization” which is a principal goal left to us from our founder Kemal Atatürk.

With a strong sense of self-confidence and unwavering industriousness, the Turkish people will continue their determined quest to modernity and prosperity, hand in hand with other nations in the world.

This meeting is an invaluable opportunity for us to acquaint you further with how vibrant political and economic actor Turkey has become over the course of the last few years and the major role it has assumed as a force for good in its troubled region and beyond.

In this context, our promising relations with the Pacific Islands bear particular significance. For the Turkish Nation, the Island States in the Pacific Ocean will not only be trusted friends with whom we wish to establish a long-term partnership, but also a circle of countries with whom we want to exchange views and make consultations on global issues in a continuous manner.

We hope that our mutual cooperation will constantly develop in many fields, to the satisfaction of all the parties concerned.

I believe that the meeting today provided us with a suitable atmosphere for a stimulating exchange of views on issues of common concern, among distinguished decision makers on foreign policies of our respective countries. There is no doubt that our countries share a common vision for peace and stability in the world, and that to contribute to it is our primary objective.

The fact that there is a considerable geographical distance between our countries does certainly not represent a gap between our emotional and wholehearted approach towards each other in today’s globalized world.

My Dear Colleagues,

It is the first time in our long history that we come together and join hands with 16 states from the thousands of miles away Pacific region and show the will for boosting our relations. And it is important to stipulate this.

Today we had very fruitful meetings. I and my Undersecretary had bilateral meetings with Your Excellencies. Tomorrow some of our senior bureaucrats who are competent experts on their areas will present you some basic information about Turkey and continue to dwell on mutual cooperation possibilities.

Friends rely on each other. Please bear in mind that you will always have a trustworthy friend on this part of the world by your side not only in good days, but in the bad days as well.

Thank you.