Last night kicked off the 4th Annual Turkic American Convention, hosted by the Turkic American Alliance (TAA), the Rethink Institute, TUSKON, and the Turkic American Chamber of Commerce (TACC). The President of TAA, Dr. Faruk Taban, welcomed delegations from various Turkic member countries at the historic Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C. Distinguished delegations from Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan were in attendance. Representatives from Turkish Parliament were also present, in addition to local and international businessmen and representatives from media outlets such as the Turkish Review and Today’s Zaman, which are also sponsors of the 2014 Turkic American Convention.
The following members of the United States Congress were in attendance and provided opening remarks during the Convention Welcome Reception: Senator Joe Donnelly (IN), Senator Robert Menendez (NJ), Congressman Scott Perry (PA), Congressman Brad Schneider (IL), Congresswoman Robin Kelly (IL), Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (NY), Congressman Steve Chabot (OH), Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA), Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX), Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL), Congressman Al Green (TX), Congressman Ted Poe, (TX), Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX), Congressman Michael Fitzpatrick (PA), Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL), Congressman Andy Harris (MD), Congressman Steve Stivers (OH) and Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA).
The night brought together an array of cultures from the Central Asian region, with performances by singers Salamat Sadykova, Kazakhstan’s Karine Alkhazov and Neslihan, as well as riveting performances by Batyr Odeyev playing the Turkmenistan dutar, Azerbaijani violinist Maestro Ceyhun, and a beautiful calligraphy demonstration by Aydin Cayir of Turkey.
