Excellencies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

As you know, this year we are celebratingthe 100thanniversary of the foundation of the Republic of Türkiye. It is, therefore, a great pleasure for me, within the framework of the celebrations of the 100th Anniversary, to co-host this concert with distinguished Ambassadors of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan today with the presence of Madam Ambassador Günay Afandiyeva, President of the Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation in Baku.

“Seven Beauties”classicalmusic group was created under the auspices of theInternational Turkic Culture and HeritageFoundationin 2022by the initiative of its presidentMs.Afandiyeva.The music group is composed of talented and professional female musicians and artists representing Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Türkiye, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, as well as Hungary. Today, they are with us and then they are going to Switzerland for the same purpose.

I am confident that this concert will be enlightening for not only music lovers, but also for the general public wishing to learn more about Turkic history and of Turkic peoples.

Thank you.