It is a privilege and honour to be with you this evening at the opening ceremony of the special exhibition “Civilizations of Turkey: Emperors in Istanbul”.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to extend my most sincere thanks to everyone who have contributed for the realization of this exhibition in the National Museum of Korea.

This exhibition will be an opportunity for an in-depth look at the Turkish history through the Anatolian, Greek-roman, Eastern-roman and Ottoman civilizations.

2012 has a special meaning and value. This year is the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Korea. This is the year in which we have upgraded our relations to strategic partnership together with “blood brotherhood” relationship that we enjoy.

With this understanding, I would like to launch Turkish wave in Korea. The first step of this wave was the “Opening Reception of 2012 Yeosu Expo Turkish Pavilion” last week and the present one is the second important step. We will hold many cultural events for the Korean art-lovers to witness the cultural riches of Turkey. Furthermore during September / October we will be running the Turkish Cultural Week in Seoul.

No doubt through these activities we will be able to display rich cultural and historical heritage of Turkey and further strengthen our exemplary relations which has its roots in the history.