Breaking News! President Erdoğan responds to question about ‘change in the cabinet’
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan answered questions from journalists on the plane back from his visits to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan. President Erdogan’s statements are as follows:
I greet you all with the utmost respect and warm feelings. We have completed our visits to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan, which started on February 10th. Each of these three friendly and brotherly countries is of special importance to us. The unique hospitality shown to me and my delegation in these three countries has pleased us greatly. The sincere affection displayed by millions of people from thousands of kilometers away is undoubtedly a concrete manifestation of the emotional bond we have with our people. The honorary doctorate awarded to me in Malaysia, the speech I gave to about 3000 people along with my dear brother Enver Ibrahim, the warm embrace of the people beyond the official hospitality in Indonesia and Pakistan have left lasting memories in our minds.
We were pleased to present our electric vehicle TOGG as a token of our brotherly relations with all three countries. This tour was also a visit that put into practice our determination to strengthen our cooperation with the continent under the initiative we started in 2019, the Asia Anew Initiative. In Malaysia, we agreed with Mr. Enver Ibrahim to establish our comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022 and to empower it with a High-Level Strategic Council. We signed 11 agreements in various fields, including defense industry and technology. We accepted a joint statement that will shed light on the future of our relations.
In Indonesia, we signed 12 memoranda of understanding at our first High-Level Strategic Council meeting. We agreed to establish a Joint Committee for Industrial Cooperation. During my visit to Pakistan, we held our 7th High-Level Strategic Council meeting. We signed 24 documents in various fields from mining to energy transformation, military cooperation to joint production in the defense industry, trade to agriculture. We accepted a comprehensive joint statement in line with the spirit of our exceptional relations. We decided to establish an additional joint permanent committee to further strengthen the council mechanism, especially in terms of defense, security, and intelligence dimensions.
During my meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif in Pakistan, we also discussed the steps that will increase our bilateral trade volume to reach the target of 5 billion dollars. We confirmed our determination to advance the projects we are conducting in Pakistan, including procurement, sales, and joint production. In my meetings with all counterparts, we thoroughly discussed international issues, particularly the situation in Gaza and Syria. We reviewed our joint steps within the United Nations, G8, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. We are continuing to evaluate our strong support for our Palestinian brothers. We are in full agreement to continue to work together to establish an independent and sovereign State of Palestine within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem that has geographical integrity. I express my deepest thanks for the extremely warm hospitality shown by Prime Minister Enver Ibrahim, President Prabowo Subianto, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, and President Asif Ali Zardari.
With these thoughts, I pray to God that the decisions we have made and the consultations we have made will be beneficial for our countries. I would now like to listen to you.
QUESTION – ANSWER
We had visits to 3 important Asian countries. We saw that there is a great affection towards our country and your leadership. Turkey is seen as a reliable partner and ally. By strengthening our ancient relations with Asian Muslims that date back to the Ottoman period, we will be one of the key countries in building the new system as Western dominance recedes. How do you evaluate Turkey’s Asian perspective as Western dominance recedes?
Both my dear brother Enver Ibrahim, Prabowo Subianto, and our counterparts in Pakistan have expressed one thing; the Ottomans. They say, “You are the continuation of the Ottomans. We see you this way.” This really pushes us into a separate world, sentimentally. They understand us very well, but unfortunately, we cannot understand ourselves. The problem is here. As we have seen in this trip in Malaysia, especially in Indonesia. In the same way, we saw Pakistan, the affinity towards us is not something that happens out of nowhere. Let me say this very clearly, the valuable legacy of our ancestors is our most important wealth. All the compliments to us come from the great legacy of the Ottomans. If it were not for this great legacy of theirs, we probably would not have received these compliments, these approaches. These compliments are derived from the valuable legacy our ancestors left us. As Turkey’s influence increases, we also receive the same level of interest in both the East and the West. Never worry about this. As Turkey’s influence increases both in the region and in the world, the interest in us in both the East and the West increases and will increase. We are building a strong bridge of hearts between two different civilizations, two different worlds.
As Mevlana describes it, one leg of our compass is firmly fixed in Anatolia and Thrace. With our other leg, we travel the world to bring goodness and beauty. In dealing with Turkey’s relations with Asia, we are experiencing a very different period historically, based on historical ties and cultural issues. We will continue to enrich this and continue it. As the dominance of the West decreases and the strategic weight of Asia increases, Turkey’s perspective towards Asia becomes more important. Strengthening our cooperation with Muslim Asian countries every day by increasing economic, social, and political ties is our goal. By increasing our collaborations with Muslim Asian countries, we can also increase the number of opportunities in terms of development and prosperity. With the opportunities ahead, we are committed to having our countries become a global power. We will never lose this determination. In this realm, strengthening the economic and trade relations with the countries of the region will definitely strengthen both Turkey and the Asian countries. We show that Turkey is a reliable country by bringing business people we took with us on these trips, This is a testimony to our success. There are results in both the meetings with businessmen and the bilateral meetings. Thank God, we also put these forward in a successful way.
Malaysia agreed with our dear brother Enver Ibrahim in Malaysia to establish our comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022 and to empower it with a High-Level Strategic Council. We signed 11 agreements in various fields, including defense industry and technology. We accepted a joint statement that will shed light on the future of our relations. During my visit to Indonesia, we signed 12 memoranda of understanding at our first High-Level Strategic Council meeting. We agreed to establish a Joint Committee for Industrial Cooperation. During my visit to Pakistan, we executed our 7th High-Level Strategic Council. From mining to energy transformation, military cooperation to joint production in the defense industry, from trade to agriculture, we executed 24 documents. We accepted a comprehensive joint statement that is in line with the spirit of our exceptional relations. We decided to establish an additional joint permanent committee to further strengthen the council mechanism, especially in terms of defense, security, and intelligence.
In our first High-Level Strategic Council meeting with Indonesia, we signed 12 memoranda of understanding. The decisions of Indonesia and the continuation of our joint activities in various fields, especially in defense industry and technology, are of critical importance. Our increasing collaboration with ASEAN aims to strengthen our partnership with the continent. We aim to develop institutional relations with ASEAN, which we have been in sectoral dialogue partnership since 2017. It is our ultimate goal to be able to be a dialogue partner. In this context, we explained our expectations from ASEAN to Indonesia and Malaysia, the hosts of ASEAN. I believe that both Malaysia and Indonesia will provide the support our country needs.
In the first High-Level Strategic Council meeting with Indonesia, we signed 12 memoranda of understanding. We decided to establish Joint Committees on Industrial Cooperation. During my visit to Pakistan, we executed our 7th High-Level Strategic Council. From mining to energy transformation, from military cooperation to joint production in the defense industry, from trade to agriculture, we executed 24 documents. We accepted a comprehensive joint statement that is in the spirit of our exceptional relations. We decided to establish an additional joint permanent committee to further strengthen the council mechanism, especially in terms of defense, security, and intelligence purposes.
We also discussed steps to reach the target of a 5 billion
