The Fifth Annual Ambassadors Conference which is organized with the participation of all our Ambassadors serving at home and abroad will be held with the theme of “Humanitarian Diplomacy” under the chairmanship of H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, in Ankara and Izmir between 2-7 January 2013.

The Conference will begin on Wednesday morning, January 2nd, with a visit to Atatürk's Mausoleum, to be followed by an official opening ceremony where H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu will deliver the inaugural speech.

The Annual Ambassadors Conferences, held for the first time in 2008 and which has acquired a traditional character in the meantime, are of great importance for evaluating our foreign policy in light of current international developments, determining strategies for the future and strengthening coordination with other institutions and organizations which are playing a role in the implementation our foreign policy.

In this context, in addition to internal sessions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, distinguished members of the Government of the Republic of Turkey, accompanied by officials from relevant institutions and organizations, will address our Ambassadors and a comprehensive exchange of views will be conducted regarding all issues affecting our foreign policy.

In this framework, Deputy Prime Ministers H.E. Mr. Bülent Arınç, H.E. Mr. Ali Babacan, H.E. Mr. Beşir Atalay and H.E. Mr. Bekir Bozdağ, as well as H.E. Mr. Sadullah Ergin, Minister of Justice, H.E. Mrs. Fatma Şahin, Minister of Family and Social Policies, H.E. Mr. Egemen Bağış, Minister of EU Affairs, H.E. Mr. Zafer Çağlayan, Minister of Economy, H.E. Mr. Taner Yıldız, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, H.E. Mr. İdris Naim Şahin, Minister of Interior, H.E. Mr. Ertuğrul Günay, Minister of Culture and Tourism, and H.E. Mr. Binali Yıldırım, Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications will address our Ambassadors at various sessions.

On the other hand, following the practice adopted in previous years, foreign dignitaries have also been invited to the Ambassadors Conference. In this framework, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore will participate in the Ankara segment of the Conference, while the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Brazil and Sweden will participate in the Izmir segment to address our Ambassadors. On this occasion, the second tripartite meeting of Turkish, Brazilian and Swedish Foreign Ministers, the first of which was held in New York in September 2012 on the margins of the UN General Assembly, will be organized in Izmir.

Izmir segment of the Conference will also allow us to engage in several public diplomacy activities, which have now become a traditional element of the Ambassadors Conferences. In this context, H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu will attend a conference organized by the Izmir Universities Platform an deliver a speech on “Turkish Foreign Policy”.

Furthermore, in the light of Izmir’s candidacy to host EXPO 2020, a comprehensive presentation/briefing will be given to our Ambassadors on this matter and there will be an exchange of views on additional steps that can be taken for achieving a successful outcome to Izmir’s candidacy, to which we attach utmost importance.