Honorable Ministers
Your Excellencies Ambassadors and High Commissioners
Esteemed MP’s
Distinguished Representatives of the International Organizations
Dear Colleagues
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is my great pleasure and honor to welcome you all to the Turkish National Day Reception, marking the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Türkiye.

It is with utmost joy and pride we are celebrating the centenary of our country.

The founder of our Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and his comrades-in-arms, all the brave men and women, heroes and fighters, started an independence war in 1919, which ended with the establishment of the Republic in 1923 and made it possible for us today to celebrate 100th anniversary of our independence.

Let’s commemorate them for their incredible leadership and unwavering resolve.

We have come a long way in 100 years. Türkiye is now entering its second century with a vision, its hard-working people, and a vibrant economy.

On this special day, please allow me to say a few words in Turkish to my fellow citizens;

Değerli vatandaşlarım,

Bugün sevincimiz ve coşkumuz büyük. Cumhuriyetimizin 100. yılına tanıklık etmenin mutluluk ve kıvancını yaşıyoruz. Geçmişten aldığımız güçle, gelecek yüzyılımızı, Türkiye yüzyılını, daha da parlak kılmak ve Türkiye Cumhuriyetini ilelebet payidar kılmak için birlik ve beraberlik içinde azimle çalışmaya devam edeceğiz.

Bu vesileyle, başta İstiklal Savaşımızın Başkomutanı, Cumhuriyetimizin kurucusu Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ve silah arkadaşları olmak üzere, bağımsızlığımız ve vatan uğruna canlarını veren ecdadımızı saygı, minnet ve rahmetle yad ediyorum.

Büyükelçilikteki mesai arkadaşlarımla birlikte hepinizi saygı ve sevgiyle selamlıyorum.

Cumhuriyetimizin 100. Yılı Kutlu Olsun!

Distinguished guests,

Let us now hear the message of His Excellency President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
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You can also pick up a copy of the English text of this message from our desk at the entrance.

Honorable Minister,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I want to briefly touch upon our bilateral relations. It will be short, I promise, though our cooperation is comprehensive and multifaceted.

- The bilateral trade volume between our countries reached 94 million US dollars as of 2022, which is far behind reflecting the true potential of our countries. Together with our Ugandan colleagues in Kampala and the Ugandan Embassy in Ankara, we are working closely to increase the number of reciprocal visits of business delegations. Taking this opportunity, I thank Ambassador NusuraTiperu for her sincere efforts to this end.

- I believe that infrastructure development is the key to Uganda’s welfare and prosperity. Therefore, we are happy and proud of our construction companies’ contribution to this end so far and expect new ones.

• Kolin İnşaat completed the Hoima-Kaiso Tonya road
• Gülsan is building Apac-Lira-Pranga road
• Polatyol is building Myumbe-Nakapriprit road
• Yapı Merkezi will begin the Malaba-Kampala Standart Gauge Railway soon, which I think will be a game-changer not only for Uganda but also for the whole East Africa region.
• And most recently, Summa, another Turkish company that proved itself in Africa like Yapı Merkezi, is now working on building a multipurpose sports arena in Kampala.

- Concerning development assistance, Turkish Coordination and Development Agency TİKA has been doing a great job. They have completed over 70 projects in Uganda in various fields so far, and currently, they are working on new ones.

- Our support for Uganda's development is not limited to TİKA. Various Turkish NGOs have been active in Uganda for a long time, and their work has been welcomed and appreciated in almost all corners of Uganda.

- Also, we are proud and pleased with our flag carrier Turkish Airlines, for their daily İstanbul-Entebbe-İstanbul flights. These flights are boosting our bilateral relations in all fields and connecting Uganda to the rest of the world via İstanbul.

- Last but not least… We have provided more than 15 thousand scholarships for African students so far, 346 of whom are Ugandans. For the 2023-24 education year, we granted 21 scholarships to Ugandan students for their undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctorate-level studies in Türkiye. I hope we will be able to increase this number next year.

Distinguished guests,

While concluding, let me underline that Türkiye stands with Uganda in her quest for further development and prosperity. I also want to reiterate that the Turkish Embassy in Uganda will resolutely continue to work to enhance the bilateral relations between our countries for the good of our peoples.

I want to thank our presidents, H. E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, and H.E. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Without their leadership and firm efforts in the last 20 years, we would not be able to reach the current excellent level of our bilateral relations.

So let me conclude my words by inviting you to toast for their Excellencies' health, as well as the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye.

Now, I would like to invite our guest of honor,

Honorable Minister, the floor is yours.