The visit by Turkey's president is the result of fruitful R&D cooperation between KKL-JNF and the government of Turkey in subjects related to environmental quality. Over the years many joint ventures have taken place involving reciprocal exchanges of information through seminars attended by professionals from both countries to study innovative methods of building rehabilitation and development programs. Today the biggest professional cooperation is in the fields of afforestation and land conservation.

Friendly ties between KKL-JNF and Turkey date from the1960s when KKL-JNF, in a gesture to Ata Turk, the founder of the modern Turkey, commemorated him with the Ata Turk Forest established in the southern Carmel woodlands. The forest was planted in Ata Turk's name in recognition of his deep affection for nature and wide open spaces, expressed in his famous adage: "They created for me a new religion, a religion of trees, whose prayer will be articulated in tree planting."

The Turkish President joins a long line of presidents and prime ministers who have planted saplings in the All Nations Grove – recently among them German Chancellor Angela Merkal and Serbian President Boris Tadic.

Present at the tree planting will be KKL-JNF Board Chairman Yehiel Leket, senior KKL-JNF officers and representatives of the Turkish Immigrants Association in Israel. The ceremony will be held at All Nations Grove, Jerusalem Forest on Wednesday June 7, 2006 between 16:05 hr and 16:20hr