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WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 23: Türkiye’s rich and diverse culinary landscape served as a pivotal connector Tuesday in bringing together US lawmakers, dignitaries, prominent members of the Turkish American community and officials. Addressing the eclectic crowd as they dined on Turkish staples including sigara boregi, dolma and baba ganoush, Representative Pete Sessions said the US-Turkish relationship is “one of the most important that we share” in the international community. “America wants to be important to Turkey, and I know that the Turkish people want Turkey to be important to the United States. Increasingly, as this world finds tension, it is important that our two countries find commonalities, commonalities that take place in this room, not only with friendships, but also best wishes, or outcomes that will be in everyone's best interest,” the Republican lawmaker from Texas who hosted the night’s event said. “We invited you to the House of Representatives, where we can not only show off your cuisine, but to make sure that each and every one of you know that as we sit back today, the world is a better place because people want it to be better,” he added. In addition to the dining options, guests were afforded the opportunity to taste varieties of Turkish coffee and were able to view an exhibit of world-renowned micro artist Hasan Kale’s works depicting Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern Turkish Republic. Hasan Murat Mercan, Ankara’s envoy to Washington, said gastrodiplomacy “is one of the leading aspects of nations’ soft power” and a “strong representation of a nation's cultural identity."(Footage by Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)