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Welcome Speech by HE Mr Peter Doyle, Australian Ambassador to Turkey
Mr Mehmet Ali Karamemis, Chairman of Nu-Door and President of Australian Turkish Business and Industry
Mr Ahmet Gökmen, Head of Executive Board, AGP Australia
Mr Cemal Akdeniz, Head of the 40th Anniversary Committee
And Mr Suha Okul, General Manager of Pemi
Distinguished guests
It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the exhibition ‘We came as workers- We stayed as citizens. This exhibition celebrates the 40th anniversary of Turkish migration to Australia.
The Turkish-Australian community in Victoria, Australia’s second most populous state, decided that they would put together an exhibition to mark this important anniversary. They did so in partnership with the Immigration Museum, Museum Victoria, Melbourne. This exhibition was launched last year and we decided we would bring it to Turkey. After Ankara, the exhibition will travel to Istanbul next month, and then to Çanakkale and Mersin in September. Çanakkale because of the strong Australian links coming from the Çanakkale War. Mersin because a number of people migrated from that part of the country to Australia and as an expression of thanks to the authorities and people of Mersin who assisted Australians evacuated from Lebanon in the summer of 2006.
As many of you know, Australia is a nation of immigrants. Most Australians are either the sons or daughters, or grandsons and granddaughters of immigrants. Today, almost one in four Australians was born overseas and cultural diversity has become a touchstone of Australia’s national identity. We regard our diversity as an important element of our strength as a nation.
We are fortunate to have Australians of Turkish origin who have made such a strong contribution to our country. There are a number of very successful Australian businessmen of Turkish origin who retain their links with Turkey, who not only trade and invest here, but also stimulate interest about Turkey in Australia and about Australia in Turkey.
Some of these community leaders are sponsors of our exhibition. I would like to thank Mehmet Ali Karamemiş of Nu Doors Pty.Ltd, Sleepcraft Distributors Pty Ltd, Mr Ahmet Gökmen of AGP Australia Pty.Ltd, Komtel Business Solutions.
I also gratefully acknowledge the support of Incremental Petroleum Limited/Petroleum Exploration Mediterranean Int Pty. Ltd (PEMI), (an Australian company operating in Turkey); the Ankara Greater Municipality; Beşiktaş Municipality; Radyo ODTU and Today’s Zaman for their generous support.
Australia and Turkey enjoy a unique friendship. The strong people-to-people links established and fostered by the Australian-Turkish community play an important role in sustaining and deepening this. Thank you for joining us this evening and I hope you enjoy the exhibition.