The Marmara Group Foundation and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

The Marmara Group Foundation and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences held a workshop addressing the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Türkiye and China, as well as strategic civil society relations between Türkiye and China. During the workshop, a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation was also signed between the Marmara Group Foundation and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The workshop began with opening speeches by Peng Jinhui from the People's Republic of China, Zhou Zhong from the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Ankara, and Dr. Akkan Suver, President of the Marmara Group Foundation. It then continued under the moderation of Ambassador İsmail Hakkı Musa, President of the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye.
In the first session of the workshop, Ambassador (Ret.) and former Minister Volkan Bozkır, Prof. Dr. Hasan Ünal, and Prof. Dr. Nilüfer Narlı from the Marmara Group Foundation took the floor. From the Chinese side, Prof. Dr. Tang Zhichao and Prof. Dr. Gao Chonggong also expressed their views and brought historical developments to the agenda.

The workshop then continued under the moderation of Sezgin Bilgiç, Secretary General of the Marmara Group Foundation. Prof. Dr. Sema Kalaycıoğlu, Prof. Dr. Akile Gürsoy, Prof. Dr. İzzet Taşar, Prof. Dr. Özgür Çengel, and Dr. Barış Adıbelli from the Marmara Group Foundation emphasized the importance of civil society activities between Türkiye and China.

From the Chinese side, Prof. Dr. Liu Zhongqin, Prof. Dr. Wei Min, Prof. Dr. Zhou Zhiqiang, Prof. Dr. Qi Qianghui, Dr. Li Huiruo, and Dr. Liu Xuefen focused on the requirements of mutual cooperation and presented academic papers on the history of the past 55 years.
Speakers from both sides presented concrete examples demonstrating how, in the 55th anniversary year of diplomatic relations between Türkiye and the People's Republic of China, China from eastern Asia and Türkiye from western Asia, as civil society actors, could contribute to providing greater opportunities for cooperation in the name of peace, humanity, and stability, in accordance with a win-win approach.
The speakers individually emphasized that the revival of the historic Silk Road under the name of the Belt and Road Initiative would significantly accelerate the expansion of cooperation among Europe, the Black Sea region, the Caucasus, the Caspian Sea, and Asia, and would provide considerable momentum to economic growth in the region.

The speakers also emphasized that by developing regional cooperation projects based on the spirit of living and working together, the door to a better and more peaceful world would be opened. They stated that these projects would constitute a roadmap for global peace in the coming years, that the Belt and Road Initiative was such an undertaking, and that it was an extremely important peace project that would shape international relations in the future.

The speakers individually highlighted that we are going through a period filled with hopes, conflicts, wars, and difficulties, and therefore stressed the necessity of uniting our strengths on the foundation of a new vision of peace.

Meanwhile, the necessity for the Marmara Group Foundation to extend its joint activities, which it has been carrying out from past to present in both civil society and academic fields, to the world of the press was also emphasized, along with the importance of facilitating reciprocal visits by Turkish and Chinese members of the press. The meeting concluded with the presentation of the final declaration by Cafer Okray, Vice President of the Marmara Group Foundation.

Following the joint workshop, a Memorandum of Understanding on civil society cooperation was signed between the Marmara Group Foundation and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Following the signing ceremony, Dr. Akkan Suver made the following statement:
"We must be able to transform conflicts into cooperation, and wars and disagreements into reconciliation and solidarity. We must act together to establish a just and lasting peace in the northern Black Sea region and the Middle East. The Belt and Road region must be a region where people of different beliefs, languages, races, religions, and nationalities work together and live together.
I believe that the cooperation we establish in the field of civil society will constitute important milestones towards this noble objective. Despite the many challenges we face, the future promises hope and opportunities. We must embrace these hopes and opportunities with common sense, foresight, and determination.

As I have always stated, the Silk Road is an important instrument for bringing civilizations closer together. Throughout history, Eastern and Western civilizations have shared not only goods but also ideas, cultures, and different values through the Silk Road.
Now, a world experiencing wars must transform into a peaceful world. As the Marmara Group Foundation, our mission, through the dialogues we establish with our civil society identity, is to serve the people living on this planet so that they may live in peace, learn more from one another, contribute more to one another, and remain committed to the principle of 'working together, living together,'" he said.