NEW YORK (A.A) - 19.05.2002 - President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and U.S. President George W. Bush sent congratulatory messages to Turkish community living in the United States for the Turkish Day Parade on Saturday. President Sezer said, ''we believe that Turkish citizens living in the United States will form a solid bridge between Turkey and the United States.'' Meanwhile, Bush stressed that Turkish-American partnership gained a new meaning.
President Sezer, who sent a message to Egemen Bagis, the President of Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA), pointed out that, ''we believe that the new generations will constitute a solid and rooted bridge between Turkey and the United States. Number of Turkish citizens living abroad, and Turkish origin foreign citizens reach four million. Members of Turkish-American society has an respectable and important place among our existence abroad. We consider those people as voluntary respresentatives of Turkey.''
U.S. President Bush, in his message, said Turkish American community gained a new vigor, and the Turkish-U.S. partnership gained strength and a special meaning with today's celebrations.
Bush said the support expended by Turkey to U.S. in fight against international terrorism, and its commitment to undertake the command of international peace force in Afghanistan, once again stressed the quality of Turkey's being a very important ally of NATO, and a modern and moderate Islam country.