The opening of the centre marks two important milestones, a milestone in the friendship between Nato and Kuwait, and a milestone in the blossoming partnership between Nato and the entire Gulf region, he said. “Nato’s Istanbul Cooperation Initiative — the ICI — was designed to contribute to long-term regional stability, so I am extremely pleased that our three other ICI partners are represented here today: Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates,” he said.

"Today Russia and Turkey are in the state of looking for new and activating old formats of cooperation in practically all spheres," [...] "After overcoming an eight-month crisis in our relations, we can see the new wave of activity in humanitarian cooperation, especially in the framework of the Russian-Turkish public forum."

History shows that cities have tended to embrace international opportunities in waves and cycles. They rarely break out into global activity by themselves. Cities participate in collective movements or networks to take advantage of new conditions, and often their demise or withdrawal from a global orientation is also experienced jointly with other cities as circumstances change, affecting many at once.

The Third Meeting of the Consultative Group for the Istanbul Co-operation Initiative (ICI) concluded yesterday in Doha after coming up with a number of important proposals and ideas. [...] highlighted the importance of co-ordination on a united strategy for public diplomacy by organising regular meetings on important matters that require united stances and reactions.

Veteran film journalist Esin Kucuktepepinar had just arrived back in Turkey after attending the Tokyo International Film Festival when she spoke by phone to Al-Monitor on Nov. 3 from the Istanbul airport. During the interview, she offered her impressions on the success of Turkish TV soap opera series. “Interest in Turkish series is growing everywhere,”

To enhance cultural and academic cooperation between Turkey and Japan, a new project "İki Doğu'nun Köprüsü: Tasavvuf Kültürü Eğitim Programı" (The Bridge of Two Easts: Education Program for Sufi Culture) has been initiated by bringing together academic and research institutions from Turkey and Japan. 

Istanbul is set to host a global meeting focused on humanitarian aid to Somalia, which is scene to persistently high and alarming levels of food insecurity and malnutrition, with an estimated 4.7 million people - nearly 40 per cent of the Somali population - in need of humanitarian assistance.