Esteemed members of the Dutch Turkish community, His Excellency and Madame Ambassador, Excellencies, Consul Generals, Esteemed Mayors, Dear Guests, Beste Gasten, Dames en Heren, Ladies and Gentleman,

Welkom bij onze receptie om de honderdste verjaardag van de Republiek van Türkiye.

On this happy occasion, it is an honour for me to greet you as the Turkish Consul General together with my wife.

On the 100th Anniversary of our Republic we are celebrating achievements of Turkish people. We commemorate with gratitude Ghazi Mustafa Kemal and our founding fathers, our grandmothers and grandfathers, and their struggle for indepence under the guidance of our Grand National Assembly. Their victory in the War of Independence and the proclamation of our Republic have been possible not only by blood and war, but also by wit and making peace. Republic of Türkiye has reached its centenary by forging strong friendships. Just as Türkiye's support to the Netherlands after the devastating floods of the past century, the Dutch people's support after the earthquakes in Türkiye will never be forgotten (you are true friends indeed).

Celebration of Turkish Republic's 100th anniversarytogether in peace and solidarity, despite many conflicts and wars rocking our neighbouring regions to the bottom for decades, despite coups and coup attempts, strengthening our democracy by embracing all our differences, is a huge achievement in the history of the world.

Today we are also stepping into the second centenary of our Republic. Our President's vision for the Century of Türkiye, to further the achievements of the Republic, can only be done by the collective will and endeavour of the Turkish people.

Atatürk's words of "Peace at home, peace in the world" is not only the motto of Turkish foreign policy. It is a philosophy adopted by Turkish people around the globe. This philosophy is a conduit to the succesful integration and net contributions of people of Turkish background to all countries where they live in. We will continue to work with this philosophy to bring an end to the wars and humanitarian catastrophies in our region.

With this understanding, we ask the Netherlands embrace this diverse, dynamic, creative, law-abiding, hardworking, smart, succesful Dutch Turkish community as they are. Because in this Century of Türkiye ahead of us, the presence of Dutch Turks will only contribute to the bright economic, social and political future of the Netherlands.

It will take forever to mention all the achievements of our 100 years. However, you may check some of our success stories, more information on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the War of Independence and much more about Türkiye by simply scanning the QR codes on the tables with your smart phones.

Happy 100th Anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye!