President of Turkey, H.E. Abdullah Gül hosted a lunch in honor of the Ambassadors on the second day of the Sixth Ambassadors Conference held with the participations of around 200 Ambassadors serving at home and abroad. Pointing out that the world is going through a sensitive period when regional and global transformation processes are still ongoing President Gül noted that “it is of utmost importance for a country to enjoy a democracy with the highest standards in terms of freedoms and the rule of law and to have a strong and developing economy that completes its democracy.”

For detailed information on President’s Gül address to Ambassadors www.tccb.gov.tr

Within the scope of the conference Foreign Minister Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu met with Turkish citizens living abroad who were attacked, abducted or injured and whose relatives lost their lives.

Emphasizing that for Turkey, one person is 75 million people and 75 million people is one person, Foreign Minister Davutoğlu said “Each one of you has a different story but I see a common value which is the great honor of being a Turkish citizen and the superior capability of our Nation that has the ability to withstand every pain”

Furthermore, on the second day of the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Beşir Atalay, Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Emrullah İşler, Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Bülent Arınç and Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci addressed the Ambassadors.

Deputy Prime Minister İşler stated that Turkey’s efforts to increase its capacity of regional power and global efficiency were noticed all around the world. Informing the Ambassadors on the work of the affiliated institutions, Deputy Prime Minister İşler stressed that TİKA carries out activities all around the world as a requirement of Turkey’s soft power element, while Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) initiated a project aiming to preparing country strategy papers for 14 countries including Germany, France and USA in order to identify the problems faced by Turkish citizens living abroad and to develop solutions to these problems.

Deputy Prime Minister Arınç, accompanied by Director-General of Turkish Radio and Television Association (TRT), Director-General of Anatolian Agency (AA), Coordinator of Public Diplomacy, Director-General of Foundations, Director-General of Press and Information and President of Atatürk of Culture, Language and History Institution said that Turkish Ambassadors represents Turkey at top-level in five continents. Highlighting the link between political and economic stability, Deputy Prime Minister Arınç pointed out that political stability has been maintained, economy accordingly has developed; Turkey has gained power. He stated that while diplomatic relations were improving slowly, positive Turkey perception of other countries was increased as soon as Turkey has obtained the capacity of a strong state and a strong economy. Also informing about the works of the affiliated institutions, Deputy Prime Minister Arınç noted that TRT is a big institution which broadcasts over 15 various channels all around the world and it is definitely aimed to open a new news channel broadcasting in English, Anatolian Agency has taken initiatives to take place within the first five agencies around the world in the last three years.

Minister of Economy Zeybekçi stated that the countries with which Turkey’s export figures increase rapidly are in North Africa and Turkey has also established strong relationships in Sub-Saharan Africa. Stressing that there is a perception that Turkey’s all current and future economic relations are only with the Western economies, Minister of Economy Zeybekçi said that Almanya comes first and Iraq comes second in bilateral trade. Underlining that free trade agreements will be signed with Japan, Malaysia and Singapore in the forthcoming period, Minister of Economy Zeybekçi noted that existing 7-8 million-dollar foreign trade volume with Asia-Pacific region can increase ten-fold.

On the second day of the Conference, the Ambassadors exchanged views on public diplomacy with the participation of Deputy Undersecretary of Prime Ministry Mr. İbrahim Kalın and Coordinator of Public Diplomacy, Mr. Cemalettin Haşimi. On the other hand, Co-President of Yenidiplomasi.com, Mr. Gökhan Yücel gave a presentation concerning digital diplomacy and Secretary-General of EXPO 2016 Antalya Agency, Mr. Selami Güney informed the Ambassadors on EXPO 2016 Antalya.