At UNGA, Turkiye House Can Be Example For Bilateral Meeting Ambiance. Room Inviting, Furniture Relaxing. Coffee, Tea, Sweets, Totes For Each Guest. Wafting Aromas Matter.
At 80th UNGA, Turkiye House Can Reset Diplomatic Ambiance For President And Mrs. Erdogan
Re-Imagining Space
If The Room Is Relaxed, If The Furniture Is Relaxed, If Aromas Are Wafting, So Too Might Be The Conversation
Look To Budapest In 2024 And Tianjin In 2025
Coffee, Tea, Sweets Next To Each Participant- Aromas Matter
For Guests Of President Erdogan: Tote (Crafted From Recycled Materials Per Mrs. Erdogan’s Zero Waste Focus) Containing Hafiz Mustafa Sweets, Centauri Honey, Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi Coffee, Antep Pistachios, Beylerbeyi Göbek Raki. And, If Ambitious, Turkish Airlines The Oldest Bread From Tas Tepeler
Images from recent heads of state bilaterals and heads of government bilaterals at APEC Leaders’ Summits, G7 Leaders’ Summits, and G20 Leaders’ Summits, NATO Leaders’ Summits, and particularly at the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City generally project 1) uncomfortableness of participants 2) lack of inspiration in terms of décor, and 3) lack of appreciation for the importance of beverages, snacks, and totes. The meeting spaces are not inspiring. They can be.
The facial expressions of principals and staff reflect more as children sitting in detention- or waiting to use the bathroom, or adults in a prison waiting room than government officials relaxed and eager to engage with one another.
The atmosphere cocooning government delegations should reflect a family room rather than reflect a formal living room or dining room.
Essential for performative elements- not reinforcing the temporary occupation of the space, but reflecting for the moment the culture and traditions of the host government whether in a room within the United Nations Secretariat Building (UNSB), a permanent mission, or a hotel.
For the duration of a meeting, the goal should be for the host to embrace visibly who they are and for their guests to enveloped by hospitality- welcomed as colleagues, family, friends.
For meetings at the UNSB, there is always the flag of the host country and the flag of the guest country. That is standard diplomatic practice. Nothing in the diplomatic handbook prohibits the host head of state’s protocol team, where for example those who work within the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkiye, have few global peers, from creating a Turkiye moment- bring in a colorful rug, comfortable furniture, and gifts…
When delegations enter the room, consider placing next to each participant a bottle of water, a pot of Turkish tea, a cup of Turkish coffee, and a tray(s) with milk/cream/sugar/sweetener, and snacks appropriate for the time of day.
The message conveyed is one of invitation- welcome to not only the meeting, but to the country, the nation, the culture, the history hosting the meeting.
For guests of President Erodgan, whether at Turkiye House or in a room at the UNSB, consider a tote (crafted from recycled materials in line with the zero waste efforts of Emine Erdogan, First Lady of Turkiye) with Hafiz Mustafa sweets, Centauri honey, Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi coffee, Antep pistachios, and Beylerbeyi Göbek raki. And, If Ambitious, Turkish Airlines The Oldest Bread From Tas Tepeler. It’s always about branding.
Upon departure, guests accept the tote and enjoy the contents and/or share the contents with colleagues, family, and friends. Memory of the experience continues long past the departure.
Less on formal, sterile, and uncomfortable where the faces of participants reflect anticipation and eagerness of a bilateral to conclude rather than for the bilateral to begin.
Out with uncomfortable looking seating and stiff chairs and in with comfortable chairs and firm so no sagging or sinking sofas.
Small coffee tables between each chair if chairs are used rather than sofas. Where there is a sofa or are sofas, one or more coffee tables accessible without effort to participants.
At the 2025 G7 Leaders’ Summit in Canada, the meeting space for heads of state and heads of government did include comfortable seating for the principals, but not so for the accompanying delegations.
Comfortable Seating For Principals. Not For Staff.
Casual For Principals. Snacks On Coffee Table. No Beverages. Seating Uncomfortable And Condensed For Staff.
Optics do matter at the head of state level. Consider the images of the President of the Russian Federation as a passenger in the vehicle (The Beast) of the President of the United States. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) on the helicopter (Marine One) of the President of the United States. The Prime Minister of Republic of India in the vehicle (Aurus Senat) of the President of the Russian Federation. The President of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) in the vehicle (Aurus Senat) of the President of the Russian Federation. The performative nature of the interaction does not necessarily equate to something good- but does provide a moment to hope that something good comes about. Will the government of the Republic of Turkiye bring a Togg to the UNGA?
Coincidently, or perhaps not, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkiye (2014-2028), was the fulcrum for the two most reported on and significant examples of “coffee and sweets diplomacy.”
The first was in November 2024 at the European Political Community (EPC) Summit in Budapest, Hungary. For President Erdogan, wearing a tie, what began as a bilateral transitioned into a trilateral and then a quadrilateral.
From media reporting: “In a rare and unexpected encounter, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama engaged in a discussion on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Budapest on Thursday… Photos from the event showed the four leaders and other officials gathered around a small coffee table in a conference hall, signaling the informal nature of the interaction.” Hakan Fridan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkiye also participated. The media headline was “Erdoğan has coffee with Greek Cypriot leader in rare encounter.”
Coffee And Sweets At The European Political Community Summit
The second was in August 2025 at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China. President Erdogan, absent a tie, shown presiding at a coffee table dining experience- plates of food and beverages, with heads of state and heads of government, including those of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Iran, and Russian Federation. The participants were relaxed.
A Casual Food-Based Conversation At The Shanghai Cooperation Organization
To paraphrase politely Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States (1901-1909), “fill head of state and head of government stomachs and their hearts and minds will follow.”
American Historical Association
Atmosphere matters. Aromas matter. Optics matter. Resonance matters. Visuals matter.