The ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) policies and experiences from past to present will be discussed in a conference organized by the Political, Economic and Social Research Foundation (SETA) on Aug. 14, the 17th anniversary of the party's founding. In the conference, which will be held in Ankara, the AK Party's policies in various fields, particularly its foreign policy, will be evaluated in detail. Academics and high-level politicians are expected to analyze developments during the rule of the AK Party. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will give the opening speech at the conference. In the first session, the AK Party in the transformation of politics and state, AK Party Deputy Chairman Mahir Ünal, SETA Politics Department Director Nebi Miş, SETA general coordinator Burhaneddin Duran, AK Party group chairman Naci Bostancı and communication director Fahrettin Altun will also deliver speeches. Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, will attend the conference and address participants in a session in which the AK Parties' steps in foreign policy will be evaluated. Economic developments during AK Party rule will be discussed in the third session, and issues regarding law, society and culture will be handled in the fourth session. The AK Party was founded on Aug. 14, 2001, and in the first elections it participated in on Nov. 3, 2002, it won by garnering 34.3 percent of votes. In the latest elections held in June, Erdoğan won by 52.6 percent of the vote, and the AK Party, which has been ruling the country for 16 years, gained 295 seats in the 600-deputy Parliament. The results marked a 7 percent drop in AK Party votes compared to the last general elections. [Daily Sabah, 10 August 2018]