TCA's 16th Congressional Delegation completed its visit to Turkey on February 24th. This delegation, comprised of 14 Congressional staffers, visited Ankara and Istanbul for high level meetings with government officials and representatives from civil society, think tank organizations, religious minority communities and media. The delegation also took a one-day trip to Gaziantep where they met with the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce and was briefed on the impact of Syrian refugees on the local economy. Since 2009 TCA has taken more than 155 members of Congress and senior staffers to Turkey and surrounding countries. For more information, please click here.

TCA commemorated the twenty-first anniversary of the Khojaly massacre, which occurred on February 25-26, 1992 in the town of Khojaly located in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. As a result of this tragedy, approximately 2,000 innocent Azerbaijani civilians were deliberately killed and taken hostage by Armenian armed forces in what is known to be the worst atrocity of modern times in the South Caucasus region. Please click here.

Francisco Gonzales of the University of North Texas (UNT) became the 250thscholarship recipient under TCA's Study Abroad in Turkey Scholarships for American Minority Students.  The TCA Study Abroad Scholarship program was established in 2008 to support study abroad opportunities for African American, Hispanic American and Native American students. For more information on TCAscholarships click here.

TCA attended a reception hosted by the Turkish Ambassador H.E. Namik Tan on February 21st to mark the 9th U.S.-Turkey Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) meeting. The TIFA Delegation from Turkey was led by Mr. Cemalettin Damlaci, Deputy Undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy, to provide a strategic framework for dialogue on trade and investment with the United States. Mr. Damlaci has previously supported TCA's efforts to build economic bridges between Indian Country and Turkey by leading 2 delegations to the Reservation Economic Summit (RES), the nation's largest American Indian economic development conference, organized by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED).

On March 12th TCA hosted participants of the Atlantic Council's Young Turkey Young America program, which connects passionate young professionals from the United States and Turkey committed to strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries. Funded by the U.S. State Department, this year's 30 participants include journalists, government advisors, non-profit leaders, CEO's, local elected officials and academics who are visiting Turkey after having first travelled to various cities together in the U.S. for high-level meetings last August.

TCA will sponsor a table at the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress' (USAFMC) 16th Annual Statesmanship Award Dinner, "A Salute to Service," on March 19th in Washington, DC. This year the Statesmanship Award will be given to The Honorable Richard Lugar, former U.S. Senator from Indiana and The Honorable Sam Nunn, former U.S. Senator from Georgia. The USAFMC provides pro bono public service programs and initiatives both at home and abroad to educate about the role of Congress, assist Congress in its international relations, and support emerging democracies abroad.