A ceremony of awarding the honorary title of «Ambassador of Culture of the Turkic World» to Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry, outstanding scientist Aziz Sanjar took place in Raleigh, the capital of the state of North Carolina (USA).
The event was held in the international cultural center named after him. It was attended by prominent scientists, politicians and cultural figures from the USA and other countries.
«These gifts are priceless for me, as they symbolize the brotherhood and unity of the Turkic world,» Aziz Sanjar noted in his speech.
He also emphasized that he considers it his sacred mission to popularize Turkic culture at international venues.
The title of «Ambassador of Culture of the Turkic World» was established in 2023 at a meeting of the Permanent Council of Ministers of Culture of the TURKSOY countries. It is awarded to outstanding figures of culture, art and science to strengthen ties between peoples and promote Turkic culture in the world.
The decision to award the title to Aziz Sanjar was made at a Council meeting in Shusha (Azerbaijan) in 2023. Aziz Sanjar, a Turkish-American biochemist, was born on September 8, 1946 in Savur (Turkey). In 1969, he graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of Istanbul University. In 1971, he moved to the United States, where he received a master’s degree and a doctorate in molecular biology at the University of Texas in Dallas. Since 1982, he has been working at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2015, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Tomas Lindahl and Paul Modrich for their research into the mechanisms of DNA repair.
