President Erdoğan, who is in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, answered questions within the scope of the Concordia Summit held at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel.
In response to a question, Erdoğan stated that Turkey knows the pain of the disasters that occurred in Morocco and Libya, following the February 6 earthquake disaster centered in Kahramanmaraş.
Erdoğan said, “Because we experienced this. We lost 50 thousand. When it comes to housing, we suffered very serious losses in 11 provinces. Of course, we have a big goal now. With this target, let’s build the houses quickly within 1-2 years and our citizens whose houses were destroyed here will also be able to build houses.” “We want them to settle into their homes as soon as possible.” he said.
Stating that there are normal residences, village houses and shops here, Erdoğan said that the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change continues to work intensively with his team.
“Our teams continue their work in Libya”
Recalling the disasters that occurred in Morocco and Libya, Erdoğan stated that Turkey is ready to provide aid to Libya and Morocco, but has not yet received a response from Morocco.
Erdoğan stated that they initially sent three “giant” transport planes and three ships with equipment and food to Libya, which received feedback.
Stating that they are ready to send all kinds of aid if requested, President Erdoğan said, “As of now, our teams are continuing their work in Libya. We consider this as a humanitarian mission and we will continue to send it.” he said.
On the question about the fight against inflation, Erdoğan said:
“Currently, global inflation is a situation that threatens the whole world. In the face of this, the steps taken and to be taken by countries where global inflation is dominant in the first degree are of great importance. Likewise, we have paid the price of this inflation now and are paying it. But our economic team is intensive on these issues “They are managing a successful process, and in this successful process, I believe that we will achieve this at the end of the year, or even at the beginning of the year, and we will get the necessary positive results from here, and with this, we will enter 2024 in a very different way.”
“I will continue to make my call”
On the question about the new constitution, Erdoğan said, “Currently, our power in the parliament is not capable of changing the Constitution.” he said.
Reminding that they called on all groups in the parliament on this issue, Erdoğan said:
“If those who have a group in the parliament respond positively to our call, then we will succeed in changing this Constitution together. In this way, the entire parliament will successfully carry out this constitutional amendment. I made this call, I am making it, and I will continue to do so. This is because we have a common “It’s our problem, we need to solve it together.”
[Grafik: TRT Haber]Erdoğan: “How do you see the geopolitical changes after the COVID-19 outbreak?” Answering the question, he said that the epidemic caused serious changes in the world and that Turkey successfully survived the epidemic period.
Pointing out that Turkey’s preparation is different compared to the rest of the world, Erdoğan said, “Because of our preparedness, our work with both our city hospitals and all the hospitals we are building was very important in terms of showing the importance we attach to the health of human beings.” said.
Erdoğan noted that some countries developed introverted policies in health during the epidemic period, economic difficulties, xenophobia and racism became widespread, there were breaks in the supply chain, and inflation reached the peak of the last 50-60 years.
Stating that medical support was sent to 161 countries and 12 international organizations during the epidemic period, Erdoğan said, “We successfully managed the epidemic with the advantage provided by the Presidential Government System. We made effective, rapid decisions and quickly implemented them. We see that Turkey’s geoeconomic importance has increased even more after the epidemic. We see this.” “We are determined to take advantage of it and turn it into an opportunity.” said.
Türkiye-US relations
On the question regarding Turkey-US relations, President Erdoğan said, “First of all, a country like the USA should occupy a very different position in the world in every field with its economy and all its opportunities. We have multidimensional relations with America, from security to trade. Our bilateral trade has exceeded 32 billion dollars. The investments of American companies in Turkey are 14.5 billion dollars. Currently, there are 2,080 companies with American capital in our country. “Of course, it is our serious expectation that America’s investments in Turkey will increase,” he said.
grain shipment
Reminding that he met with Russian President Putin during his visit to Sochi last week, Erdogan said:
“During his visit to Sochi, we discussed with Mr. Putin the shipment of 1 million tons of grain to our African brothers in the first stage. As you know, there are 33 million tons of grain coming from Russia in the Black Sea Corridor so far. 44 percent of them are sent to Europe and 14 percent It will be our humanitarian and conscientious duty to turn this grain into flour and send it to African countries, especially to the least developed African countries. We talked about these in our meeting with Mr. Putin last Monday. We had a meeting and we quickly decided to operate this grain corridor again and say ‘1 million tons is not enough, I request you to increase it even more.’ I said, “Let’s carry out this process through telephone diplomacy and thus, ‘Let’s fulfill our duty as Russia.’ They said and so we said goodbye.”
Türkiye-Iraq Development Road Project
In response to the question, President Erdoğan also evaluated the Turkey-Iraq Development Road Project, which is planned to connect the Persian Gulf to Europe via Turkey.
Erdogan said:
“First of all, it is a corridor that will go through the Persian Gulf and the Gulf countries, passing through Iraq and going to Europe via Turkey. I have seen that the Gulf countries are very determined in this matter, especially with the rail system, highways, infrastructure and superstructure of this corridor. Be it the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, they are all very determined on this issue. Most importantly, we are determined. I saw this determination in America, I saw this determination in Germany, Japan, too. Therefore, with such a step we will take, we will have the opportunity to build a new world.”
Relations with NATO
“How do you navigate national interests and broader geopolitical tensions as both a NATO member and a strategic partner of the United States?” Erdogan asked. On the question, he reminded that Turkey is one of the oldest members of NATO.
Pointing out that Turkey is one of the top 5 countries in NATO with both its military power and financial support, Erdoğan continued as follows:
“We have such a position within NATO with the military power we provide and the financial support we provide. We have not made any concessions on this so far. This power of ours within NATO is also appreciated among NATO member countries.
As of now, we are a country that strictly fulfills the duties we have undertaken within NATO, and we will continue to perform the same duty in the future because, as NATO member countries, we all have common interests here. “We have no intention of compromising here.”
“Our perspective on refugees is very different”
“Turkey hosts more refugees in its country than any other country. When it comes to international institutions and environments, do you think the global migration crisis can be adequately responded to today?” To the question, Erdoğan said, “The world’s approach is positive in some countries. For example, America is one of the positive countries in terms of looking at refugees. Germany and France are the same. Likewise, as Turkey, our view on refugees is very, very different.” he replied.
Stating that the main opposition party’s view of refugees in Turkey is “cruel”, Erdogan continued his words as follows:
“In the election campaign, ‘If we win the election, we will deport the refugees.’ He made a threat by saying, “We are the exact opposite… We will continue to host refugees the same way we have done so far. We currently have nearly 5 million refugees. We are hosting these 5 million refugees with all our efforts. We will continue to do so.”
President Erdoğan stated that Turkey is building briquette houses and new residences in the north of Syria, and emphasized that nearly 600 thousand Syrians have started to return to these places voluntarily, and that they will enable them to return to their own lands with the new residences to be built jointly with Qatar.
Sensitivity to environmental issues
“In your opinion, how can sensitivity be achieved on environmental issues without hindering potential economic growth in Turkey?” Erdogan gave the following answer to the question:
“Turkey’s greenhouse gas emissions are quite low, yet Turkey is the country that contributes the most to the Paris Climate Agreement goals. We are a country that can be set as an example in the world with the steps we have taken in this field, because when we look at the support we receive here, we can see that without any support, like many other countries. We have taken these steps, we are taking them, and we have complied with the Paris Climate Charter to date, and we continue to do so.
As Turkey, we take responsibility in this vital issue that concerns the common future of our world and humanity. We are among the countries that have made the most significant contribution to the Paris Climate Agreement with our 2053 net zero emissions and green development targets. We are taking important steps in both renewable energy and nuclear and hydrogen investments. We are 5th in Europe and 12th in the world in terms of renewable installed capacity. We are in such an effort and work. The steps we have taken in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy have prevented 90 million tons of carbon equivalent greenhouse gas emissions annually. In line with our 2053 net zero emission target, we doubled our emission reduction target by 2030. “This is, of course, one of the steps that can be considered an example in the world.”
Graphic: Hafize Ateş
