Today, the Turkic American Alliance gave a reception for the honor of Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu at its headquarters in Washington D.C. There was a high turnout that consisted of distinguished guests from major Turkish umbrella organizations, TAA member organizations as well as NGOs, Public Policy Institutes, and Embassies in Washington D.C at the reception. Guests came almost one hour earlier than the Foreign Minister and thus, they had a chance to see TAA’s beautiful
headquarters.
Pinnacle Academy students who were winners of future city competition displayed their project in the Reception Hall of TAA. Foreign Minister Davutoğlu greeted each of those students and paid attention to a brief introduction of their award-winning project as soon as he entered the hall. TAA President Faruk Taban showed him Pinnacle Academy students’ pictures with H.E. Davutoğlu which was taken during one of his visits as well as with US President Barack Obama. By saying “you thought everything” Minister Davutoğlu thanked to Pinnacle Academy students for their wonderful project and wished continuation of their success.
Afterward, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu entered the TAA’s Conference Hall. He greeted almost each of the guests through walking in the Hall and talked with them. There were Representatives from the Turkic countries Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan as well as Tajikistan who met with H.E. Davutoğlu. Guests from Somali community in here said their gratitude to the Minister. His meeting with the Representatives of Ahiska Turks who are living in the US was a meaningful part of the reception.
TAA President Faruk Taban welcomed everyone and said: Well, Distinguished Guests! First of all, Dear Minister! Dear Ambassador! Ladies and Gentlemen! Firstly, I thank all of you for your coming to our center. My name is Faruk Taban; I am the President of Turkic American Alliance. It is a source of honor for us to see such distinguished guests altogether and to be together with such distinguished guests from various friend and relative groups has a big different meaning for us. This is a second opening for us. Our Ambassador attended to our opening but now we have a more respected and significant guest among us as you have already met. His Excellency attends whole day from meeting to meetings and thus, I would like to give microphone to His Excellency by cutting my words shortly. Dear Minister, Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu.
Ahmet Davutoğlu: Thank you! I also was honored and glad. I was honored and glad due to many reasons. Yesterday and today we attended many activities whether at the Congress or Public Policy institutes. Inşallah, we will conduct activities for official meetings at the White House and the State Department on Monday. However, one of the meaningful, the best activity among all of these activities is to be together at the same place with our citizens in this evening.
Maybe, its opening has been done before, but I see Turkic American Alliance’s this beautiful building for the first time and I congratulate our meeting in here. I thank a lot for bringing us altogether at an environment where friendship, affection were permeatedthat is really beautiful residence and furnished within a beautiful design. Besides, another thing which makes happy all of us, of course it is beautiful too is that all of our umbrella organizations are here. The first thing we want to see when we go abroad among our citizens is unity and solidarity.
Turkish Nation, Turkish people are not fit into its pattern anymore. Once upon a time, when we were young, if any citizen of Turkey went abroad was used to counted as an extraordinary event. Long stories of him were told when he turned back. However, now, without passing many years from that time we see that our people are at everywhere.
The biggest power of Turkey is human power. We don’t have everlasting natural resources. We don’t have capital saving that was obtained through exploiting other nations. We don’t have resources such as natural gas and oil as we could say we can eat the ready things. Nevertheless only one thing – the biggest power of us is our human resource – well-educated, young, and energetic but the most significantly human resource that is powerful belonging to their country, history and nation.
Now, in last three years throughout my work as Minister, even before, other Ministers used to apply to this principle. We have embraced as a principle to abolish visas even more in last three years. We realized that Turkish people when obstacles in front of them are removed they are moving to everywhere of the world as small-small rivers join to each other and turns to an ocean, and they create an excitement and a new scope at the places where they moved. We are opening a beautiful place of such a wonderful scope now. I thank and congratulate Mr. Faruk, his team and friends. They showed us that we will never satisfy with little. They created a residence that we can always show with proud at the beautiful place, at the beautiful building of Washington D.C as it was furnished within the best quality and beautiful design. I express my gratitude to them.
I feel responsible to say thanks to other umbrella organizations which came today by accepting our invitation, ATAA, and all of our other organizations. We have always emphasized that we want to see unity and solidarity at the meetings which we organized at our Embassy too. We are proud of when we have guests who come from America to Turkey through programs of these organizations.
Amateur time of our citizens finished in this meaning. We attain to a powerful civil society structure whether with the contributions of philanthropist citizens or coming together of our citizens in an organized manner. We will be effective in here when we assure our unity and solidarity, when we penetrate into American society while living with this society the honor of being a Turk from one side, one the other side, by using the all rights of becoming American.
I see our Ahiska brothers in here. I also congratulate them. They penetrated into this society in a very short time and obtained a place in the best manner in here. I thank to all of our brothers who helped them. I have seen just before our brothers from Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. In this case, we are in a position that we spread out to all of those places as a nation. There is another group that I pleased to see today is brothers from Somali. I saw many brothers from Somali. They are our natural citizens as I told them, and as I told yesterday at our Embassy. We will extend our friendship, brotherhood hands to them no matter where they are.
I thank again for coming together in such a meaningful togetherness. And one thing I would like to tell in here; my request from you, my request as a citizen of Turkey, my powerful petition as becoming Minister – I don’t want to say an order, but you can request many things from us and you have rights to do so, we will fulfill those requests with our Ambassador and team – we have only request from you is unity and solidarity. No matter we are in any of our umbrella organizations, we work in any of our associations and no matter to be any of the states we will be together and let’s be one and together.
There is no place we could not pass if we are together. In this case, we will be giving the most powerful message to those societies who are in front of us, who are begrudgingly following our increasing power and approaching to that as a source of problem.
We will first maintain our unity and solidarity, and then we will strengthen our ties with those who lived together with us in the history. We will embrace and be hand in hand with our brothers and who share the same history coming from Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East and Africa. We have lived this friendship, affection, and brotherhood no matter where we arrived in history. We will live the same thing in every state of America.
Furthermore, of course, – Ali (one of Pinnacle Academy students) come come Ali. You are Ali, aren’t you? I don’t remember wrong, right? I was introduced earlier- I congratulate these little brothers. They have shown just before their beautiful award-winning project at the outside. I congratulate – yes our beautiful girls are here – all of them too. Inşallah, they will be a new generation that will be lightening America. What they will give in this society, their messages which are inspired from Mevlana and Yunus Emre will Inşallah open new scopes for the new generation of America. I thank again for creating such an opportunity and for your being together.
I thank those guests who came from far countries, Chairmen and members of other umbrella organizations who came from California and New York. I thank all of you, Ahiska Turks from Ohio, brothers who came from each corner of America, members of other organizations from Texas. God Bless You! We never forget you and you also don’t forget us.
Meeting with the leaders of Turkish Umbrella Organizations
After taking pictures with guests Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had a meeting with the leaders of Turkish Umbrella Organizations in the US in the Board Room of TAA around round table. His Excellency expressed his gratitude once again for their togetherness. Each of those leaders explained what their organizations do and about their organizations. Afterward, they had question and answer discussion on related issues.
Turkish Version:
Dostluğu muhabbeti ve kardeşliği tarihte yaşamışız. Simdi de Amerika da her bir eyalette yaşıyacağız.
