The 11th annual Ambassadors' Conference will be held in the capital Ankara on Aug. 3-9 under the theme "Strong Diplomacy both in the Field and at the Table." Turkish ambassadors representing the country all across the world will attend the conference. Developments regarding foreign policy, recent challenges and opportunities and the priorities for the upcoming term will be evaluated in the conference. The economy and security issues will be on the agenda of the conference as well.
In the first two days of the conference, Turkish ambassadors will discuss issues relating to the agenda of the Foreign Ministry. On the third day of the conference, on Aug. 5, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is expected to officially open the event. During the conference, which ministers will also be invited to, major issues Turkey has been facing will be comprehensively discussed in separate sessions. On issues such as terror, economy and security, officials will inform ambassadors about the latest developments.
The main issues in the conference are expected to be the latest situation in Syria, the increasing tension in the Gulf, the international conflict about drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and Turkey's relations with the European Union. Turkey's latest initiatives in Latin America and Africa, Islamophobia and xenophobia are other topics expected to be on the conference's agenda.
Foreign guests are also expected to attend the conference as in previous years. Jordan Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Indonesia Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Uzbekistan Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov will be among the foreign guests. Moreover, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' (TRNC) Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay will attend the event in the last days and brief ambassadors about the drilling conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Cyprus issue.
As has become traditional, the closing of the conference will be in another city rather than Ankara. On Aug. 9, the closing ceremony will take place in the Black Sea's Samsun province to mark the 100th anniversary of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's arrival in Samsun to launch the independence war. May 19, 1919, was a milestone in Turkish history as it was the day when Mustafa Kemal, later to become Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, arrived in the Black Sea city of Samsun from Istanbul to organize the war that saw the remnants of the Ottoman Empire transformed into modern Turkey four years later.