On the evening of June 11th, 2014, the Turkic American Alliance hosted a Senate Staffers Appreciation Reception in the Russell Office Building. The reception took place during 5:00pm-7:00pm. Guests ranged from Chiefs of Staff and Legislative Directors to fellows and interns, and everything in between. In total, over 120 guests attended the reception, enjoying delicious Turkish food and warm conversations.
Brief remarks were delivered by Dr. Faruk Taban, President of the Turkic American Alliance, and Aibek Omokeyev, the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United States and Canada. Dr. Taban thanked the staffers for all of their hard work on Capitol Hill and for their friendship with the Turkic American Alliance. He also promoted an upcoming trip to Turkey and Kyrgyzstan in conjunction with the 2nd Annual Kyrgyz American Convention, which will be taking place this September in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Mr. Omokeyev also invited those in attendance to the upcoming 2nd Kyrgyz American Convention, and highlighted the achievements of the 1st Annual Kyrgyz American Convention, which took place last November in Washington, D.C. A brief PowerPoint presentation was also delivered, highlighting the upcoming trip and convention, as well as pictures from last year’s convention in D.C.
For last year’s convention, 16 U.S. Members of Congress, including 1 U.S. Senator, were in attendance, in addition to 13 Members of the Kyrgyz Parliament and 1 former Kyrgyz Minister of Economy and Development. The convention provided an invaluable platform upon which U.S. Members of Congress and their counterparts in the Kyrgyz Parliament could network, discuss upcoming trade and relations initiatives, and enter into friendships. This is particularly timely as the United States drawdowns its troop presence in Afghanistan. With this drawdown, the U.S. will not need to rely as heavily on Kyrgyzstan and other countries in the region that have been instrumental to U.S. war efforts through the Northern Distribution Network. In Kyrgyzstan’s case in particular, the U.S. contract at the Transit Center at the Manas International Airport expired in June, prompting the question of what Kyrgyzstan’s role and relationship with the U.S. will be once its geostrategic significance to the U.S. vis-à-vis Afghanistan becomes less apparent.
