40th Anniversary of the Marmara Group Foundation
Chairman Akkan Suver Receives FOWPAL Lifetime Achievement Award
The 28th Eurasian Economic Summit was held with grandeur in Istanbul, Türkiye, from May 7 to 8, 2025, bringing together nearly 650 prominent leaders from 44 countries across politics, diplomacy, economics, academia, religion, and business. The opening ceremony on May 7 welcomed distinguished guests, including heads of state, ministers, parliamentarians, and international organization representatives, for in-depth discussions on the world’s most pressing issues.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Marmara Group Foundation, the summit’s host. In recognition of his lifelong dedication to promoting peace, cultural dialogue, and regional cooperation, Chairman Dr. Akkan Suver received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Dr. Hong Tao-Tze, President of the Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL).
H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Türkiye; H.E. Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan; H.E. Cevdet Yılmaz, Vice President of Türkiye; and H.E. Ersin Tatar, President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, each sent messages congratulating the summit’s success and celebrating the Foundation’s 40th anniversary. They commended its enduring efforts in fostering international dialogue.
The opening ceremony featured a documentary celebrating the Foundation’s four-decade journey, highlighting nearly thirty years of organizing the Eurasian Economic Summit. The film featured powerful scenes of Dr. Hong Tao-Tze and his delegation conducting the Bell of World Peace and Love ceremony, inviting global leaders to offer prayers for a better world. Through cultural performances, messages of love and hope were shared, illustrating concrete actions toward peace. This was Dr. Hong’s fourth invitation to attend the Eurasian Economic Summit. He led a 64-member international delegation from FOWPAL in active participation.
This year’s summit was themed “A More Humane World — Dialogue for a Livable Future.” In his address, Dr. Suver underscored the importance of fostering shared reason and conscience through dialogue as a means to resolve conflict. He noted the lack of a united international response to ongoing wars, conflicts, terrorism, and humanitarian crises, and the uneven approaches to global challenges like climate change, debt, food security, development, and involuntary migration. Dr. Suver called on the global community to embrace dialogue over confrontation, reason over division, and collective wisdom and conscience in place of displays of force. He stressed that the summit serves as a vital platform for amplifying diverse voices and pursuing solutions rooted in a shared moral compass.
To recognize Dr. Suver’s outstanding efforts in transforming the Eurasian Economic Summit into a leading forum for international leadership exchange, FOWPAL presented him with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Hong conferred the honor in appreciation of Dr. Suver’s long-standing contributions to global dialogue, cross-cultural understanding, and peacebuilding through his publications, initiatives, and engagement in civil society and diplomacy.
On May 7, nine distinguished leaders rang the Bell of World Peace and Love and prayed for a better world. The participants included H.E. Milo Dukanovic, Former President of Montenegro; H.E. Hassan Diab, Former Prime Minister of Lebanon; H.E. Jiří Paroubek, Former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic; H.E. Enver Hoxhaj, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament and Former Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo; H.E. Jan Vapaavuori, Former Minister of Economic Affairs of Finland; H.E. Ghadha Ata, Former Minister for Refugees of Lebanon; H.E. Davor Filipović, Former Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Croatia; H.E. Milan Roćen, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro; and H.E. David A. Chikvaidze, Vice President of the Swiss Forum for International Affairs.
H.E. Milo Dukanovic , former President of Montenegro, rang the Bell and made a peaceful wish. He emphasized that humanity has come to more deeply cherish the peace being desperately pursued in regions such as Ukraine, Gaza, Yemen, and Kashmir. In light of the most serious global threats since World War II, he emphasized that only peace can save the world.
The next bell-ringer, H.E. Hassan Diab, Former Prime Minister of Lebanon, prayed for peace in Lebanon, Gaza, the Middle East, and the world. He emphasized that achieving peace requires openness to multicultural and multireligious understanding, as well as acceptance of others as they are. He affirmed that peace is the only path to global prosperity and praised FOWPAL’s peace efforts as a universal initiative worthy of global recognition.
H.E. Enver Hoxhaj, Deputy Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, affirmed that the initiatives led by the FOWPAL carry a clear purpose, meaning, and direction—elements that are vital for the future. In the current era marked by turbulence, he expressed his sincere wish for a world characterized by lasting peace, security, stability, along with greater economic growth, quality education, and hope for all people.
H.E. Jan Vapaavuori, former Minister of Economic Affairs of Finland, described the bell-ringing ceremony as deeply symbolic, stating it would remain in his heart forever. He wished that all of humanity would come to realize that nothing is more important than peace and love.
To commemorate the meaningful bell-ringing ceremony, Dr. Hong presented each bell-ringing leader with an original artwork symbolizing harmony, friendship, and sustainable coexistence between humanity and nature. He encouraged them to continue benefiting the world with conscience, hope, and goodwill.
H.E. Petre Roman, former Prime Minister of Romania and a bell-ringer in 2024, was awarded the “FOWPAL Peace Bell Award” and an original artwork by Dr. Hong. He expressed deep gratitude for being part of the peace and love community and affirmed the profound global significance of the initiative.
In his opening speech, Dr. Suver also highlighted the Foundation’s efforts in promoting intergenerational transition, nurturing young leaders to carry on the mission of peace. Reflecting this vision, FOWPAL arranged for two youth delegates, Annie Shen and Judy Lo, to deliver speeches at session on “Ecology, Economy, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, and Health,” demonstrating the active engagement of youth in global affairs.
Annie Shen emphasized that in the age of AI, technology must be guided by conscience, developing tools that embody moral judgment, discernment, and empathy to foster peace and sustainability. Judy Lo, speaking from a human-centered design perspective, shared her experience integrating psychology and AI, calling for technology to be driven by love and conscience to ensure a just and compassionate future. Both of them, from a youth perspective, outlined a hopeful blueprint for "conscience-driven technology."
FOWPAL also presented a series of cultural performances, including the debut of the “Divine Dragon and Purple Phoenixes” in Türkiye—a symbol of peace and hope that conveyed blessings to the nation and the world.
Additionally, FOWPAL promoted three key declarations: the "World Will Power Day Declaration," the "International Conscience Day Declaration," and the "Transparency and Integrity Declaration." Distinguished guests were invited to endorse the declarations, joining a global call to cultivate trust, unite the power of conscience, and promote sustainable development and peaceful prosperity worldwide.