Erdoğan highlights Türkiye's role in global migration

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the "Türkiye's Migration Management Program" at the AKM in Istanbul as part of the "Century of Türkiye" initiative :

The issue of migration has occupied global attention in recent years. People are forced to leave their homeland due to reasons such as war, instability, terrorism, and climate change. There are over 281 million migrants worldwide, with over 165 million migrant workers.

This indicates that at least 20 people are compelled to migrate. Today, 3.6% of the world's population lives as migrants. Unfortunately, these numbers continue to increase.

We hear news almost every day of tragedies resulting in the deaths of hopeful travelers. Hopeful travelers have perished in the bloody hands of human traffickers. Over the past decade, more than 72,000 people have died along migration routes.

The fate of children fleeing the conflict in Syria to Europe remains unclear.

Of every 100 refugees worldwide, 75 are hosted by low- and middle-income countries. As it has been for centuries, Türkiye continues to play a central role between the east and west, and the north and south.

Anatolia has always been a land of migration throughout history. All the oppressed have seen Anatolia, the lands of Türkiye, as a safe haven. Whenever someone is in distress, they turn to Türkiye first. We don't complain or hesitate; we continue to extend a hand to those in need as a neighborly duty.

In our country, there is no specific number of migrants, as some opposition members and others claim. There are a total of 4 million and 33 thousand migrants, with 2.869 million Syrians, 1.090 million with residence permits, and 176 thousand under international protection.

Thanks to the measures we have taken, this number is decreasing daily. We encourage international students to study in our country, hosting students from over 190 countries.

We also continue our efforts to combat human trafficking. 263,000 illegal migrants have been deported from our country, and in the last two years, the entry of 270,000 irregular migrants has been prevented.

A total of 23,780 people were arrested. Our government's policy on migration and migrants is very clear. We view this issue from the perspective of our ancient heritage. We will never give up those who seek refuge in our state.

The 13.5 years of oppression and conflict in Syria ended on December 8th. As the regime responsible for killing one million people was overthrown, a new government representing the freedom of the Syrian people took office.

This new government is working to rebuild war-torn Syria. As Syria recovers and the stability and security in the country rise, the number of returnees has increased to 200,000. The number of people returning to their homeland with dignity has reached 931,450.

As Türkiye, we proudly face one of the greatest tests of the last century. For 13.5 years, we have faced heavy criticism. We have overcome many obstacles, including sending oppressed people to their deaths. We will not allow hate speech or racist vandalism.

Anyone who deviates from our basic migration policies will not be spared. Migration is a new encounter. Migration is the coming together of different people on the same ground. The contributions of migrants to the Turkish economy have not been discussed in a healthy way.

At this stage, Türkiye needs human capital to achieve its development and goals. As a society, we need to have a more objective discussion without prejudice. We must adopt more rational policies regarding our brothers who contribute to the economy and create added value. We will never compromise on our country's security or the protection of our demographic structure.