Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made noteworthy statements during a program where the export data for the year 2023 was shared.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated the following in his speech:
"Today, we have gathered to evaluate the foreign trade data for the year 2023. First and foremost, I congratulate each and every member of our business world, on behalf of all of you, on the new Gregorian year. We entered the new year with a heavy heart due to the wars in our region, especially in Gaza, and the losses in the fight against terrorism and earthquakes. Nevertheless, I pray to Almighty Allah for the year 2024 to bring goodness to our country, our nation, and all of humanity.
On the first working day of the new year, I am delighted to be with our exporters and the pioneers of our business world, who work tirelessly to increase our trade that reaches Turkish products to all corners of the world. Hopefully, shortly, we will thoroughly discuss the report card of Türkiye's foreign trade performance in 2023 in all its aspects. Before moving on to that, I would like to express a point. We live in a geography that is not only strategic but also challenging as Türkiye. Throughout history, as it is today, there is a region at the center of our country in the focal point of the global power struggle. The vast majority of underground resources that sustain the world economy, especially oil and natural gas, are located in this geography.
In addition to natural wealth, our region is at the heart of the majority of world trade routes. The Istanbul and Çanakkale straits connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, the Strait of Hormuz connecting the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, and the Strait of Gibraltar, the gateway of the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean, are just a few of the vital connection points for world trade. As global trade increases, the importance of these straits, especially, and Türkiye's situation are highlighted. If you pay attention, you will see that almost all the crises, tensions, and hot conflicts that have erupted in recent times occur in the immediate vicinity of our country.
In the face of this risky situation, our goal is to protect and further develop our country's economic, diplomatic, and trade gains. So far, thank God, we have succeeded in this. We have not allowed warlords who want to make our country a party to the bloody conflicts in the north and south of us. Despite the interventions of third parties, we have endeavored to strengthen our relations with our neighbors based on a win-win understanding. We have resolved disagreements that have arisen with some regional countries and re-elevated our cooperation to the levels it should be. While raising our relations with the Turkish world to historical heights, we have also tried to develop mutually respectful collaborations with Europe and the United States. Our relations with African and Latin American countries, already positive, have progressed with new dimensions in a positive struggle and field. We have not rejected any friendship extended to our country. We went running when someone took a step towards us. We shaped our foreign policy with a Türkiye-centered but global perspective. There will definitely be no turning back from this.
Türkiye will continue to increase the number of its friends. We are aware of attempts to sever our country from brotherly countries with strong historical, religious, human, economic, and commercial ties, which have been tried with various provocations and ill-intentioned discourses. A campaign was conducted in the summer months aimed at undermining tourism, one of the most important sources of income for our country. Now, we see that a similar wave is being attempted, this time through sports, with the support of opposition parties. We are faced with hate speech that we will never approve of, targeting individuals, societies, beliefs, and countries. People are scorned, humiliated, and subjected to insults simply because of their origins. We are facing a frenzy that goes as far as Islamophobia and xenophobia. Opposition actors are unfortunately voluntarily playing the role of figures in this vile, sordid, and extremely dangerous politics of hatred. We see that this wave of hatred is not coincidental, and it is a very clear sabotage attempt against Türkiye and Türkiye's interests."
