Many civil society leaders, along with local and foreign journalists, attended the first-ever reception organized in London by the Turkish-British Journalists Association (TİGB), one of the UK’s respected think tanks.
At the reception, Egyptian journalist Mohamed A. Otaify also evaluated Prime Minister Erdoğan’s visit to Egypt.
Turkish and British journalists who gathered at the reception held the previous evening discussed relations between the two countries. The event, hosted at Sofra Covent Garden—owned by prominent London-based businessman Hüseyin Özer—also featured lively and colorful moments.
Among those attending the reception were Vice Consul Barış Elmenar; Press Counsellor at the Turkish Embassy in London Zeynep Özeri; Culture and Tourism Counsellor Tolga Tüylüoğlu; Polad Mammadov from the Azerbaijani Embassy; TİGB Chairman Alpaslan Düven; TİGB Vice Chair Aynur Tattersall; TİGB Board Member Emma Edhem; businessman Hüseyin Özer; Bloomberg London correspondent Kübra Yelkenci; UK Turkish Cypriot Associations Council President Ahmet Baştürk; Iraqi Turkmen Front London Representative Sündüz Abbas; BN Magazine Managing Editor Ozan Adan; lawyer Kadir Kurtuluş from Kurtuluş Law Office; Cihan News Agency London correspondent Kadir Uysaloğlu; freelance journalist Bahattin Çağdaş; lawyer Bora Balcı; British journalists Claire Durkin and Jonathan Fryer; Egyptian journalist Mohamed A. Otaify; Greek journalist Sokratis Grates; and many other guests..
Egyptian journalist Otaify evaluated the Prime Minister’s visit
During the evening—which brought together Turkish and British journalists and featured engaging discussions on a variety of topics—Egyptian journalist Mohamed A. Otaify drew significant attention while assessing Prime Minister Erdoğan’s visit to Egypt. Otaify stated that Erdoğan, who was welcomed by large crowds in Egypt, had shown support for the Egyptian people, and emphasized the need to further strengthen cooperation with Turkey.
“We have built a bridge of Turkish-British friendship”
TİGB Chairman and London correspondent for Doğan News Agency, Alpaslan Düven, said in a statement that the event was one of the most significant efforts to date aimed at strengthening cooperation and solidarity between Turkish and British journalists.
Düven noted that TİGB places great importance on working in cooperation with British and other international media professionals:
“With their deep-rooted political traditions, the British are very capable of understanding and shaping the course and pulse of world politics. The British media plays an important role in this. Therefore, journalism is considered a respected profession in the UK. This prestige allows journalists to perform their duties with a strong sense of responsibility and satisfaction. TİGB continues its work with this same sense of responsibility.”
Düven also emphasized that Turkish journalists working in the UK should strive to achieve an excellent level of English and highlighted the importance of being well-informed about press ethics in the country.
