January 14, 2011 – The Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) hosted a reception on Wednesday for Francis J. Ricciardone, the newly appointed US Ambassador to Turkey.
Leaders from the Turkish American community, as well as the Azerbaijani American, Bosniak American, and Macedonian American communities attended the event to wish Ambassador Ricciardone well as he departed for Ankara.
In his opening remarks, TCA President G. Lincoln McCurdy, on behalf of all Turkish American organizations and friends of Turkey, wished Ricciardone success in his new assignment.
Ricciardone, who has extensive diplomatic experience in Turkey, expressed his eagerness to return to Turkey to implement the agenda set forth by President Obama to strengthen relations between the two countries. In his remarks, Ricciardone highlighted the importance of civil society and business groups in expanding and strengthening ties between the two nations, and expressed his support for these efforts.
