Turkey joins at a crucial time for IDLO, with ongoing preparations for the November 2011 election of the new Director-General of the organization. H.E. Ertharin Cousin, United States Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Food and Agriculture Agencies in Rome, current President of the IDLO Assembly of Parties, said “I am pleased to formally welcome the Republic of Turkey as IDLO’s newest Member. The Presidency looks forward to Turkey’s participation in the upcoming annual Assembly of Parties meeting and their active role in the future governance of IDLO.”

Since the mid 1980s, IDLO has trained a number of public sector officials from Turkey in the areas of public procurement, trade liberalization, and managing legal difficulties linked to financial expansion and regulation. Jeffrey S. Waldron, IDLO's Acting Director-General, expressed confidence that Turkey’s accession to IDLO would no doubt lead to increased opportunities for mutual collaboration in the field of the rule of law. “It is my honor to welcome the Republic of Turkey to IDLO’s Assembly of Parties,” said Mr. Waldron. “This is an important time for the evolution of our organization. Advancing the rule of law to create greater opportunities has become a priority for many countries and Turkey’s accession is a sign of the continued support of governments for the important work we do promoting good governance around the world. We are delighted that Turkey has become our 25th Member Party and we look forward to its active participation in IDLO's development."

H.E. Ambassador Hakki Akil, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Italy, commented: “I am very pleased that Turkey has joined IDLO as a Member Party. The rule of law and good governance are a high priority for our Government and we look forward to making a significant contribution to the progress of the organization’s work.”