By Manal Abdel Fattah
The Yunus Emre Institute “Turkish Cultural Center” held a Ramadan iftar party in one of the luxury hotels in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.
The institute’s director, Emin Poyraz, the Turkish ambassador, Salih Mutlu Şen, the ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Dr. Alkhan Bokolov, the ambassador of Pakistan, Sajid Bilal, and the charge d’affaires of the Polish embassy, Michal Chabros, participated in the breakfast, along with a number of officials. The Egyptian Ministries of Antiquities and Culture, and many pioneers of art and culture.
In a speech he delivered, Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen, Turkish Ambassador to Cairo, said that the Turkish Cultural Center “Yunus Emre” will provide many different activities in Egypt during the coming period.
He added, “We have common factors with Egypt in several areas in the month of Ramadan, such as culture and arts,” noting that the month of Ramadan in all the world is a month of worship and celebrations.
The ambassador continued: We hope to carry out many joint works and develop them continuously, such as archives, cinema and television works, as well as joint historical shrines.
He stressed that the culture closest to the Turkish people is the Egyptian culture, adding, I saw the 3 countries that love Turkey the most: Egypt, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan.
For his part, the director of the institute, Emin Poyraz, stressed that the mutual cultural passion between the Turkish and Egyptian peoples will establish new horizons for fruitful cooperation between Turkish and Egyptian institutions in the coming period.
Poyraz expressed their intention to accelerate the pace of the institute’s activities to include various fields, and said, “I believe that our endeavors will serve as a link for many Turkish citizens to become acquainted with the historical and cultural heritage of Egypt. This will also, of course, contribute to the prosperity of tourism between the two countries.”
Poyraz added, “We continue without stopping our efforts to increase joint cooperation in the scientific and technological fields between the two countries by urging the largest number of Egyptian children and youth to participate in the “Technovest” exhibition, which is considered the largest technology exhibition in the world.
He added, “We will strive to develop cultural projects and achieve ways of joint cooperation in the field of Turkish cinema and series, and we will also contribute to bringing together the pioneers of art and culture from the two countries in joint works and events.”
For his part, during his speech, Turkish Ambassador Salih Mutlu Shen expressed his happiness with the large attendance at the iftar ceremony, noting that the cultural factor was and still is the most prominent and influential in relations between the two countries.
The breakfast ceremony was attended by: Ambassador of Turkey Salih Mutlu Shen, Ambassador of Pakistan Sajid Bilal, Ambassador of Azerbaijan Alkhan Polokhov, Chargé d’Affairs of the Embassy of Poland Mihau Habros, and Educational Advisor of the Embassy of Turkey Dr. Ibrahim Aslan, the head of the Azerbaijani community in Egypt, Seymour Nasirov, the head of the media department at the Palestinian Embassy, Naji Al-Naji, the director of cultural activity at the Russian Cultural Center, Sherif Gad, the former head of the National Theater, the artist Ahmed Shaker, and the artist Sheri Adel.
