"In the coming period, we will clearly see positive reflections of our economic program,"
"In the coming period, we will clearly see positive reflections of our economic program,"
In his statement after the meeting of the presidential cabinet, President Erdogan said: "In the coming period, we will clearly see a positive reflection of our economic program in other areas, especially in inflation."
Commenting on the issues discussed at the meeting, President Erdogan said: "We have just held the second cabinet meeting in the new year with a busy agenda. During our meeting, we discussed in detail many important issues, especially the economy, education, the fight against terrorism, and foreign policy. As always, the most important topic on the agenda of our cabinet was work in the earthquake-prone zone. We also reviewed the preparations for the upcoming local elections. I will share with you our assessments of the electoral process, especially from the point of view of security.
First, as always, I would like to briefly remind you of the programs that we have implemented since our last Cabinet. While we are working on the upcoming elections on March 31, we are also continuing the struggle for the development of our country.
"TURKEY IS RESOLUTELY MOVING FORWARD IN ACHIEVING ITS GOALS"
Turkey is at the center of the overall picture: wars, conflicts and attacks in our region continue continuously. Gaps in the global security architecture are also deepening uncertainty in the global economy. A significant number of developed and developing countries face the threat of serious political instability and related social tensions. Despite all these negative phenomena that are active all over the world, Turkey, thank God, is resolutely moving towards its goals.
In tourism, 2023 was the best season in our history. In 2023, our tourism revenues increased by 17 percent compared to the previous year and reached 54 billion 315 million dollars. The number of visitors to our country has reached 57 million people. We have achieved these historic successes in tourism, despite the negative campaigns of the opposition and some fascist circles aimed at undermining tourism. If it weren't for this malicious propaganda, we could have achieved much higher rates. Our goal for 2024 is 60 million visitors and $60 billion in tourism revenue.
"WE ACHIEVED THE HIGHEST EXPORT VOLUME IN JANUARY IN OUR HISTORY"
We maintained the momentum achieved in exports in January. January exports increased by 3.6 percent compared to the same month last year and reached $20 billion, reaching the highest January export volume in our history.
The positive atmosphere in the employment sector, which is our top priority, remains. According to data released today by TurkStat, the unemployment rate in Turkey in December 2023 decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 8.8 percent compared to the previous month.
We are pleased with the growing confidence in the Turkish economy from international investors and markets. With the growing demand for Turkish lira assets, the risk premium in our country continues to decrease. In the coming period, we will clearly see positive reflections of our economic program in other areas, especially in inflation.
"WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED OUR MANNED SPACE MISSION, OPENING NEW HORIZONS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF OUR NATIONAL SPACE PROGRAM"
Some of the steps we have taken in this direction since our last Government meeting can be described as follows: we have successfully completed our manned space mission, opening new horizons within the framework of our national space program. Alper Gezeravji, one of the outstanding pilots trained in our Turkish Air Force, returned to our country after completing his mission and scientific experiments on the International Space Station, and today we received him.
In the coming months, we will send our second astronaut into space for a suborbital flight to conduct new experiments. We are glad that our first space flight has aroused increased interest in cosmonautics, astronomy and science, especially among our youth.
A nation that carries the legacy of scholars like Ali Kushchu, Ferghani and Jazari would not be appropriate otherwise. Unfortunately, those who believe that devaluing every step of our country in different spheres is a skill have not been idle here either. We are sad when we see this superficial understanding that puts pens, wedges and obstacles in jobs and services instead of doing business, producing projects and promoting a vision for the benefit of the country and the nation. The more we look at them, the better we understand the reason for those precious years that Turkey has lost in the past. We have continued, we continue and we will continue our path regardless of the constant rivals.
"WE CONTINUE TO REAP THE BENEFITS OF OUR INVESTMENTS IN THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY"
We continue to reap the benefits of our investments in the military-industrial complex. At one ceremony that we attended at the Yalova Sefine shipyard, we presented TCG Derya, the second largest ship of our Navy, TCG Istanbul, our national frigate produced with internal resources and various weapons systems integrated into it, our logistics ship TCG Lieutenant Arif Ekmekçi, Our world's first unmanned surface vehicle with electronic warfare capabilities, the Marlin AUSV, in short, many defense industry products, each of which is an example of effort and success, for our naval forces.
We are moving forward under the leadership of Captain Derya Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha, who said: "He who dominates the seas dominates the world." I wish that our ships and weapons systems that we have adopted will benefit our navy, and I congratulate those who have contributed to these projects.
"WE ARE PLEASED WITH THE POSITIVE RESULT OF OUR REQUEST FOR THE F-16, WHICH WE HAVE BEEN FULFILLING WITH THE UNITED STATES FOR SOME TIME."
We are pleased that our request for the F-16, which we have been fulfilling with the United States for some time, has led to a positive result. I hope that with the lifting of restrictions from our country, the Turkish defense industry will develop faster from now on.
We hosted Iranian President Raisi in Ankara on January 24 on the occasion of the 8th meeting of our High-level Cooperation Council. We have consulted with the President on many issues, especially the fight against terrorism, regional development and the crisis in Gaza.
We are determined to bring our bilateral trade, which has slowed down for some time due to sanctions, to the target of $30 billion. The 10 new agreements that we have signed in various fields are a concrete sign of our will to develop bilateral relations.
"TURKEY WILL NOT ALLOW THE CREATION OF "TERRORISM" ON ITS SOUTHERN BORDERS AT ANY COST"
At the January meeting of the National Security Council, we summed up the results of 2023 and subjected our cross-border operations to a comprehensive assessment.
We see this fact very clearly: Turkey has limited the separatist terrorist organization to a narrow territory with its strategy of eradicating terrorism at its source. The main factor prolonging the life of the separatist organization is the support provided to terrorists by some of our allies and some structures in northern Iraq. Turkey, of course, respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Iraq. We fully support Iraq's fight against terrorism. We rightly expect our Iraqi brothers and sisters that they will not allow the use of Iraqi territory as a base for terrorist acts against our country. Both our Foreign Minister, the head of the National Intelligence Organization, and the Minister of National Defense have conveyed to the Iraqi authorities our sensitivity on this issue. This summer, we will largely complete our fortifications in the area of Operation Talon. Thus, we will have the opportunity to take much more effective measures in the fight against the separatist terrorist organization that we have been pursuing for 40 years.
The eradication of terrorism is also important for the Development Road project, which we plan to implement jointly with Iraq. In no case will Turkey allow the appearance of a "terrorist" on its southern borders. We will continue to smash the heads of members of a terrorist organization wherever we find them, and destroy the infrastructure created for this purpose. We will leave our children a safe, peaceful, stable and peaceful region where there is no terrorism beyond our borders.
"THE LENGTH OF THE RAILWAY SYSTEM NETWORKS COMPLETED IN ISTANBUL HAS INCREASED TO 338.5 KILOMETERS"
We promoted the candidates of our party and the People's Union in the political arena. We have presented the election manifesto of March 31 to our public. During our visit to Izmir, we also officially opened our 2,060-bed city hospital and access roads. On January 29, we put into operation the Gayrettepe-Kyagytkhane line, which we consider as a new breath of the Istanbul movement. Thus, we have ensured uninterrupted metro traffic along the 37.5-kilometer line between Istanbul Airport and Gayrettepe. With the commissioning of this line, the length of the completed networks of the railway system in Istanbul has increased to 338.5 kilometers. Currently, four metro lines with a total length of 52.7 kilometers are being built throughout Istanbul. We continue to take steps to put an end to the transport problems of our city under the motto of Istanbul, which brings more than inconvenience. Thanks to the discoveries that we will open in the coming months, we will bring a railway system with a length of more than 34 kilometers and 18 stations to our city as part of four separate projects. I hope that the Gayrettepe-Kyagithane metro line will benefit our Istanbul again.
On February 1, we received the first graduates of our Theological Academy, which we implemented as a result of efforts for about 10 years, in our complex. I wish success to our 4,537 candidates for religious leaders who have successfully completed the eight-month training process in their official positions. Our religious community assumes an important responsibility not only in providing religious services to our people, but also in educating the "Asym generation". In today's world, where threats to the mental, physical and mental health of our children and youth are growing, we expect more efforts from our religious ministers, who are janitors. I sincerely believe that our religious leaders, whose educational opportunities have expanded with the introduction of the Religious Academy, will best fulfill their duties of knowledge, leadership, communique and representation in the coming period.
Receiving Italian Prime Minister Mr. Meloni, we discussed the period of full membership in the European Union, the development of cooperation in the field of defense industry, trade and investment. The visit of the Prime Minister of Niger, Ali Mahamane Lamine Zein, and his delegation to our country forced us to reconsider our relations with Africa. We will continue to strengthen our cooperation with our African brothers and sisters in all areas, using a mutually beneficial approach.
"NOW WE HAVE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TURKEY WITH ITS OWN POLITICS, SOCIETY AND ECONOMY"
Especially in the last 10 years, as before every election period, as the March 31 elections approached, one after another images began to appear that would disturb our country. All kinds of games have been revived, from terrorist attacks to provocative outbursts borrowed from old Turkey.
Those who are used to taking control of our democracy with the help of political engineering, our unity and solidarity with the help of social engineering, our economy with the help of petty speculation, are not sitting idly by. However, now there is a completely different Turkey with its own politics, society and economy. In the last May elections, our people once again proved this fact to all enthusiasts of guardianship and coups inside and outside them. Despite the fact that this reality is thrown into their eyes, I hope that those who dream of turning local government elections into a tool to stumble over our country will again leave their enthusiasm in their hands.
"THE ERA OF THOSE WHO STAB THIS NATION IN THE BACK EVERY TIME IT IS RIGHT IS OVER"
With Allah's permission, we will not give an opportunity to those who want to disrupt the atmosphere of trust and stability that has been Turkey's strongest point for 21 years. Those who interrupted the path of democracy and development of this country, which began in 1950 with the late Menderes, with the 1960 coup, those who sabotaged the political and economic order, which was regrouped immediately after, first with the 1971 memorandum, and then with the 1980 coup, those who prevented the dream of the great and strong Turkey that arose from the late Ozal with the February 28 coup, those who tried countless ways and methods for the same purpose during the rule of the Justice and Development Party governments, When none of them worked, the era of those, who took up arms again to create upheaval and chaos, in short, those who stabbed this nation in the back every time it was right, is now over. Outdated scenarios do not work for our country, and the realities of the region and the world do not prepare the ground for this. Turkey is now a player in a completely different league, both politically, economically and militarily.
The first 10 years of our government were spent fighting guardianship, and the second 10 years were spent fighting terrorism and kidnappers of national will. What we have never neglected in this process is the continuation of breakthroughs in democracy and development. Thus, we have managed to create a renaissance infrastructure that corresponds to the vision of the "Century of Turkey" in our goals for 2023. Those who expect Turkey to make mistakes that will prevent it from taking its rightful place in the global system of governance and economy, as it did in the 1960s, 1970s and 1990s, will wait longer. Despite the fact that it is currently surrounded by a ring of blood and fire, there is a Turkey that is moving towards its goals with the determination to realize the ideal of the Turkish century with confidence, peace and stability.
