Turkish presidency to portray “disaster of the century” in the US

Under the coordination of the Presidency's Directorate of Communications, a delegation consisting of members of parliament, officials from public institutions and organizations, and academics who are experts in their fields will conduct public diplomacy activities in the US regarding the disaster Türkiye experienced on February 6, when the earthquakes struck Pazarcık and Elbistan districts of Kahramanmaraş province.

Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Trade, Energy, Natural Resources, Information, and Technology and AK Party Konya Deputy Ziya Altunyaldız, Deputy Director of Communications Assoc Prof Çağatay Özdemir, and the General Director of Earthquake and Risk Reduction at AFAD, Prof Orhan Tatar, will participate in the visit programme, which will address the topics of disaster diplomacy, humanitarian diplomacy in natural disasters, the effects of natural disasters on international relations, Türkiye-US relations, as well as the historical facts of the events of 1915.

Prof Çağrı Erhan and Prof Nurşin Ateşoğlu Güney, members of the Presidential Security and Foreign Policy Council, Assoc Prof Kılıç Buğra Kanat, Research Director at the SETA Foundation at Washington DC, Assoc Prof Şuay Nilhan Açıkalın, Faculty Member at Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, are among the delegation.

As part of the programme, a panel entitled "Disaster Diplomacy: Recoding International Solidarity for a Resilient World" will be conducted at the Washington National Press Club on April 17. The panel "Humanitarian Diplomacy in Natural Disasters: An Indispensable Necessity" will be held on April 19 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, while the two-session panel "The Effects of Natural Disasters on International Relations" will be held on April 20 at the Türkevi Centre.

The panels will emphasize the significance of cooperation, solidarity, and humanitarian diplomacy during natural disasters and humanitarian crises.

Turkish and international experts in their respective disciplines will share their perspectives at the panels to discuss initiatives that will provide global solutions to global problems and mechanisms to facilitate cooperative action in forming a shared mindset.

The historical facts of the events of 1915 will also be on the agenda

In addition, the Directorate of Communications will hold a two-session panel discussion titled "A Call to Truth: Historical Facts of 1915 Events" on April 21 at the Türkevi Centre in New York.

In the sessions titled "The Instrumentation of History for Political Reasons" and "The Role of Disinformation in the Spread of Armenian Claims," historians, legal professionals, authors, journalists, and security and foreign policy experts will address the historical facts surrounding the events of 1915 in depth. The panel intends to explain to the international public Türkiye's historical arguments regarding the events of 1915—about which the country was most exposed to disinformation and black propaganda—in the light of international law.

There will be meetings on Türkiye-US relations

The delegation will visit institutions and organizations such as the US Department of State, the US Agency for International Development, the World Bank, the United Nations, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of the programme. The delegation will meet with members of the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkish Relations and Turkish Americans, along with Turkish and international press members residing in the United States, NGOs, and the Turkish and Azerbaijani diasporas.

The meetings will focus on elevating relations between Türkiye and the United States, evaluating opportunities for cooperation in various fields, and the significance of fostering ties for both the region and the two countries.

The "Disaster of the Century Exhibition" will also be displayed at the US Congress. (ILKHA)