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5 key takeaways from Erdogan's 'Century of Türkiye' speech

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveils a series of programmes, projects, and targets ahead of next year's centennial celebrations.

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Erdogan said Türkiye is getting "more and more appreciation" with its humanitarian and conscientious stance.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed the country's growth brought about by his government over the past two decades and vowed progress in the fields of politics, economy, technology, military, and diplomacy.

His remarks came at the Justice and Development (AK) Party's "The Century of Türkiye" event held on Friday in the capital Ankara.

"We share with all humanity the happiness that the 'Century of Türkiye' is also the name of a revolution that will bring democracy, development, peace, and prosperity to all parts of the world, starting with our country and our region," he added.

Here are five key takeaways from his speech:

1. Increasing Türkiye’s global influence

Erdogan vowed to make Türkiye one of the 10 greatest states in the world.

"We brought Türkiye’s reputation to highest level with our foreign policy," said Erdogan, adding his party wants to make a strong start to the new century of the republic.

Under AK Party, the number of foreign missions increased from 163 to 255 and the country now exports UAV, armed UAV and similar products to 170 countries, Erdogan said. These Turkish UAVs put the effectiveness of combat drones into the limelight.

Ankara will also have $1 trillion of export volume and will become a leading country in metaverse and blockchain, he added.

2. Role as a mediator

With most of the major world powers taking one side or another over the Ukraine conflict, Ankara stepped in to play the role of peacemaker.

Erdogan has repeatedly stressed his wish to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy together at the negotiating table in Türkiye to end the conflict.

"At a time when wars, conflicts, and tensions are increasing all around us, we are the only country that makes sincere efforts for peace by establishing an equal, moral, and fair relationship with all parties," he said.

Perhaps the biggest breakthrough in the conflict came when Türkiye, along with the UN, brokered a deal to open up a grain corridor, which has helped ease food prices around the world.

The July deal offered a safe passage to shipments of wheat and other cereals stuck at Ukrainian ports for months.

3. Fight against terrorism

Talking about Türkiye's anti-terrorism operations, Erdogan said the country "thwarted attempts to create a terror corridor along our southern border with the operations of Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, Claw, Peace Spring, Spring Shield and Claw-Lock."

Türkiye had launched Operation Claw-Lock in April to target the PKK terror organisation’s hideouts in northern Iraq’s Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions near the Turkish border.

It was preceded by Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding out in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

4. Humanitarian stance

Türkiye has ensured "the voluntary return of approximately 530,000 people to the safe zones we created in Syria," Erdogan said on Friday.

More than 3.7 million Syrians currently reside in Türkiye, making it the world's top refugee-hosting country.

Following the start of a bloody civil war in Syria, Türkiye adopted an "open-door" policy for Syrians fleeing persecution and brutality.

Erdogan said Türkiye is getting "more and more appreciation" with its humanitarian and conscientious stance.

“All 85 million citizens of this country will be the number one citizen,” Türkiye’s President Erdogan said during the unveiling of the AK Party’s “Century of Türkiye” vision in Ankara pic.twitter.com/hlt65MD2vZ
— TRT World (@trtworld) October 29, 2022

5. Reforms close to home

Looking ahead, Erdogan said Türkiye will kick off Canal Istanbul, the party's project to create an alternative strait for shipping.

He said his AK Party will also get rid of the constitutional clauses made after the 1980 coup and would propose a new one to the parliament as part of the party's new vision.

These constitutional amendments would safeguard the rights of women wanting to wear headscarves but also protect family values, Erdogan explained.

In addition, Türkiye explored 540 billion cubic metres of natural gas reserves in the Black Sea, Erdogan said, adding he "will share the joy of new good news in energy with our nation soon."

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies