The opening ceremony of the 2009 CIBJO Congress in Istanbul on May 3 will host Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey and Kursad Tuzmen, the country's Minister of Foreign Trade, representing the Turkish government.

"It is a great honour to be able to host Prime Minister Erdoğan at our congress," said Dr. Gaetano Cavalieri, the president of CIBJO. "Not only does it illustrate the great value that his government places on the economic role of the Turkish jewellery industry and trade, but it is indicative of the regard that the jewellery is held by important world leaders.

Mr. Erdoğan has served as Prime Minister of Turkey since March 14, 2003, and been a leader of the Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (Justice and Development Party). Serving as a mayor of Istanbul between 1994 and 1998, during April 2009, he represented Turkey as one of the G 20 countries at the summit called in London to discuss the international response to the global financial crisis. His attendance at the Congress hosted by the Turkish Jewellery Association at the Sheraton Istanbul Ataköy Hotel, will help highlight the importance of the country’s gem and jewellery trade. The Congress is slated beteen May 3- May 5, 2009.