On November 29, 2011, the Northwest Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce (NOWTA) hosted a dinner in honor of Hon. Nihat Ergun, the Turkish Minister of Science, Industry and Technology, at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Seattle.
Around 150 guests attended this event. İbrahim Karaosmanoglu, Mayor of Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, Tamer Ozmen, General Manager of Microsoft Turkey, Hon. Aydin Topcu, Los Angeles Consul General of Turkey, and Hon. Minister’s delegation were among other distinguished guests.
NOWTA’s President Baris Taze welcomed the guests and announced that NOWTA is about to become a major partner of the Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey (TUSKON) in the Northwest.
In his speech, Hon. Ergun pointed out the progress Turkey has made within the last 9 years that has taken Turkey from the 26th largest economy in the world in 2002 to the 16th largest today. One of the ministry’s goals is to strengthen the trade and economic relations between Turkey and the U.S. He emphasized the importance of non-profit organizations and congratulated NOWTA for its great accomplishments since its establishment in 2009.
NOWTA extends its sincere gratitude to Tamer Ozmen and his Microsoft-Turkey team, especially Erdem Erkul, for planning this great visit.
By Bilgehan Jansen
