PEOPLE & EVENT

Turkey marks 90th

anniversary of proclamation of the Republic

Ambassador and Mrs. Mustafa Naci Saribas of the Republic of Turkey hosted a reception at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Oct. 29, 2013 to celebrate the 9th anniversary of proclamation of the Republic of Turkey. An estimated 500 distinguished guests attended from Korean society and the international community, especially from the Seoul Diplomatic Corps.

Among the Korean guests were Minister Park Sung-choon of Patriots & Veterans Affairs, Vice Minister Kim Kyou-hyun of Foreign Affairs, President Synn Ilhi of Keimyung University, Publisher- Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post Media, and many representatives from the business, media, cultural and various other organizations.

From the diplomatic community were mission chiefs and other senior diplomats from about 80 different countries of the world, who included Ambassadors Mohammad Yunos Farman of Afghanistan, Ramzi Teymurov of Azerbaijan (CDA), Natallia Zhylevich of Belarus, Edmundo Sussumu Fujita of Brazil, Petar Andonov of Bulgaria, Manuel Lopez Trigo of Costa Rica, Dibaba Abdetta (Dr.) of Ethiopia, Nikoloz Apkhazava of Georgia, Ahmad Masoumifar of Iran, Khalil Ismai Abdul Sahib Al-Mosawi of Iraq, Bakisher Dulat of Kazakhstan, Ngovi Kitau of Kenya, Duishonkul Chotenov of Kyrgyzstan, Jose Luis Bernal of Mexico, Torbjorn Holthe of Norway, Ceferino Adrian Valdez Peralta of Paraguay, Luis T. Cruz of the Philippines, Krzysztof Majka of Poland, Antonio Quintero Nobre of Portugal, Calin Fabian of Romania, Konstantin V. Vnukov of Russia, Tissa Wijeratne of Sri Lanka, Mohamed Ali Nafti of Tunisia, Vasyl Marmazov of Ukraine, Bakhtier N. Ibragimov of Uzbekistan (CDA).

There also were Director (minister-level) Mukhamedov Farrukh Erklievich of Uzbeskistan, Maj. Gen. Urs Gerber (Swiss member of Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission), and Defense Attache Brig. Gen. Angel Gonzalez Castillo of Mexico.

Mrs. Zofia Majka (spouse of the Polish ambassador) kindly introduced The Korea Post to President Synn of Keymyung University which is located in Daegu and has won many awards for its excellence, including ACE (Advancement of College Education) won last year. The University will dedicate a new 1,000-bed state-of-the-art general hospital in 2015 for the Daegu citizens and other patients from other parts of Korea and the world.

Speaking to the guests, Ambassador Saribas said, “Turkey and Korea are today’s rising powers in the far east and the far west of Asia. These two active middle powers, taking advantage of being members of G-20, recently MIKTA and numerous other international and regional fora, spare no effort in bringing an added value in the search of solutions to global challenges of today as well as to peace, stability and prosperity.

“It goes without saying that, denying the geographical distance, these two brotherly countries have nurtured a very special bond “blood brothers” stemming from the support of Turkey in the Korean War which resulted in a long-standing and deep-rooted friendship and cooperation.

“During my tenure, I tried my best in furthering people to people ties, bilateral official and private contacts at all levels by putting effort in creating more awareness in Korea about Turkey and Turkish culture.

“I am confident that, gathering strength from its past, the relations between Turkey and Korea will further develop in all avenues.

“Taking this opportunity I would like to thank you all for joining us on the 90th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey.”

There were performances by a children’s choir from the Rainbow International School, which attracted a warm applause from the audience.

The speech was followed by a congratulatory speech by Vice Minister Kim Kyou-hyun. He said in part: “Turkey and Korea have a long and strong relationship which traces back to history. The participation of Turkish troops in the Korean War has transformed this relationship into blood brotherhood. These two countries, seemingly far away from each other, are actually getting closer and closer every day. I believe that cultural events which let us introduce our countries to each other have a very important role in further enhancing the existing good relations between the two countries.

“During the last two years, there have been significant developments in all avenues including cultural relations. 2012 was the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Korea. On this occasion, we launched a “Turkish wave” in Korea through a series of cultural events.”.k

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