Dear Members and Friends,
Turkish-American Business Forum held a reception on Friday, January
23rd, 2009, honoring His Excellency Baki Ilkin, Turkey's Permanent Representative to the United
Nations, to celebrate his achievements and Turkey's United Nations Security Council non-permanent
membership. The reception took place at Ayza Wine & Chocolate Bar, which was also the
venue sponsor of the evening.
A select group of attendees including Honorable Mehmet Samsar, Turkish
Consul General in New York, and Honorable M. Kemal Gokeri, New York Representative of Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus, enjoyed a delightful evening accompanied by tasty wine and delicious
canapes followed by selected chocolate samples. The attendees also had the opportunity
to interact with His Excellency Baki Ilkin personally.
The evening started with the opening remarks by Mr. Murat Agirnasli
who referred to a previous luncheon organized by Forum in 2005, where H.E. Ilkin had emphasized his
goal of securing a seat on the Security Council during his tenure. Mr. Agirnasli went on to
congratulate H.E. Ilkin for his accomplishments and thanked him and Mrs. Ilkin for their tireless
efforts.
Later, H.E. Ilkin pointed out that Turkey had not been a member of the
Security Council for almost fifty years and now although Turkey cannot dictate policy at the
council, its contribution to the strategic thinking of the council would be significant. H.E. Ilkin
mentioned that Turkey has been elected to the council with 151 votes, highest number of votes since
1996. He also thanked Mrs. Ilkin for her continuous support during this period and his entire
career.
We would like to thank the owners of Ayza Wine &
Chocolate Bar, Mr. Zafer Sevimcok and Mr. Aytac Nural for their kind support and elegant
hosting.
Please
click here
if you would like to see the pictures of this
event.
We would like to thank all attendees for their
involvement and continuing support to this great organization. For those who missed this event, we
look forward to seeing you at our next event. If you would like to be a part of the planning, or
become a contributing sponsor, please feel free to contact us at
info@forum.org
or 212.599.1192.
Turkish-American Business Forum
