Yunus Emre Institute is hosting a huge high-profile delegation of businessmen, corporate executives and investors from leading sectors including food, technology, automotive and aviation as part of the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project.

Within the framework of the cultural diplomacy efforts that seek to improve Turkey's image in the People's Republic of China and promote interactions in cultural, social and academic cooperation, representatives of various sectors are welcomed to Turkey so that they can directly enjoy Turkish culture and hospitality.

To this end, the first program for the 8th Chinese delegation consisting of more than 70 firms including the leading firms of many sectors such as Air China, HP, Lenovo, Huawei and 21th FOX was held at Esma Sultan Mansion in Istanbul on Tuesday, January 8.

The program was attended also by Istanbul Deputy Governor İsmail Gültekin, Institute President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş and Yidian Executive Board Chairman Li Ya. At the beginning of the program, reed flute player Burcu Karadağ and her band gave a concert.

The program moved on with the Conference "One Belt, One Road: Let Us Shape the Future Together" organized within the frame of the Academic and Scientific Cooperation Project of Turkey (TABİB), which has been launched under the auspices of the Presidency of the Turkish Republic, and Institute President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş delivered the keynote speech.

"One Belt, One Road: Let Us Shape the Future Together"

"Today, we are delighted to bring together many distinguished figures from the business world, coming from a part of the world which is far away in terms of distances, but is close as regards trade and culture, with the valuable organizations from your country," Ateş said. Noting that they have added science diplomacy activities to the Institute's ongoing cultural and public diplomacy initiatives, he said, "In this context, we make our global network available for our country's national institutions and organizations, academic circles and research and development sectors."

Deputy Governor Gültekin delivered a speech in the program, pointing out that the project which has been implemented as part of the TABİB, aims to enhance cooperation and strengthen bilateral relations by shortening the distances between the two countries.

Yidian Executive Board Chairman Zi Xun drew attention to the fact that Yunus Emre Institute and Yidian have undertaken significant scientific research, and indicated that a better road map will be prepared in line with improved communication and interaction.

Following the speeches, the Institute and Yidian undersigned the Academic and Scientific Cooperation Project of Turkey (TABİB) protocol.

The signing ceremony was followed by a panel moderated by Ali Çağatay, the New Coordinator of Bloomberg HT.

Yunus Emre Institute President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş, Arzum Elektrikli Ev Aletleri A.Ş. Executive Board Chairman and Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK) Executive Board Member Murat Kolbaşı, İstanbul Bilgi University Deputy Rector Prof. Dr. Ege Yazgan, Yidian Deputy President Jin Zhi and Prof. Dr. Zhang Xiang, from the Communication University of China, were among the panelists, and during the panel discussions, the need for enhancing cooperation and the importance of establishing new connections between the cultural, technological, IT and creative sectors of the two countries through the sharing of ideas, experiences and skills were emphasized.

The Conference "One Belt, One Road: Let Us Shape the Future Together" organized within the frame of the Academic and Scientific Cooperation Project of Turkey (TABİB) ended with the presentation of gifts.