In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vienna Convention, the ICC (Istanbul Consular
Corps) organized a conference with Hon. Mehmet Samsar, General Manager of the Directorate of Consular Affairs of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that was held on Tuesday, 6 May 2014 at the Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus Hotel.

In picture from left Hon. Aykut Eken, FICAC Secretary General, Hon. Nikolaos Margaropoulos introducing Dr. Michael Nobel, FICAC President, Honourable Arnold Foote and Hon. Costas Lefkaritis.

In his introduction, Hon. Nikolaos Margaropoulos said:

Michael Nobel was born in 1941 in Stockholm, Sweden. He is a member of the Nobel family, the great grandson of Industrialist and humanitarian, Ludvig Nobel, the founder of Branobel, and one of the worlds richest men in his time. Ludvig was the brother of Alfred Nobel who invented dynamite, and established 5 prizes in the family name.

FICAC President, The Honourable Arnold Foote OJ, CD, JP, Dr. Michael Nobel and Hon. Costas Lefkaritis.

FICAC President Arnold Foote, in his speech, said:

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Consuls, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all here this evening to our banquet to honour Dr. Michael Nobel.

The Honourable Arnold Foote OJ, CD, JP, President of the World Federation of Consuls.

The rapidly changing global environment affects the nature of the work done by consuls and the conditions under which they work. Among the significant challenges that consuls face globally is the emergence of new security risks that threaten peace, security and development.

Governor of East Java, H.E. Dr. H. Soekarwo, in his speech, declared the Conference officially open. In his speech, H.E. Dr. H. Soekarwo said: Assalamu’alikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

First of all and foremost, let me humbly invite you all to praise the Lord, the Almighty, for His grace and blessing that enable us all to gather in this City of Heroes, after only last week the Indonesian people celebrated the Heroes’ Day

I am delighted to welcome all of you to Surabaya and to join you at the opening of this Third FICAC East Asia Regional Committee Meeting and Conference.

I cannot say enough about the graciousness and the hospitality that we have all received from we arrived here in beautiful Surabaya. Thank you very much.

What an exciting and fruitful day we had. We were treated to hear fantastic speakers in this Conference, starting with the inspiring address of our President, Hon. Arnold Foote, as ably read by our Secretary-General, Hon. Aykut Eken.

A marathon runner, at the finish of his marathon, once said: “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”