ALEXANDRIA - Turkish Minister of Finance Mehmet Simsek inaugurated on Saturday the new branch of the Yunus Emre Turkish Cultural Centre in the coastal city of Alexandria, the second in Egypt after the one in Giza. The opening of the centre featured a musical concert and Turkish-Egyptian performances. Named after Yunus Emre, a Turkish poet (1240 –1321), the centre is a Turkish soft power initiative created by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2007. The activities of the centre include conducting research for promoting Turkish culture, history, language and literature, and supporting scientific studies through cooperation with other organisations. It has branches in several countries across the world, including Belgium, the UK, Japan and Iran.