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Esteemed Ambassadors,
Dear Colleagues,
I am very glad to address you as Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the
occasion of the 12th Ambassadors Conference.
Yesterday, we had the opportunity to receive, firsthand, instructions from
our President. I would like to reiterate once again our gratitude to His
Excellency on behalf of all of us. As always, we will continue working with
enthusiasm and devotion and follow his instructions.
Today is November 10. We commemorate Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the
founder of our Republic, with respect and gratitude.
May the souls of Atatürk and all our ancestors who founded our Republic be
blessed.
This year, we celebrate the centenary of our National Sovereignty. In three
years, we will celebrate the centenary of our Republic with enthusiasm and
pride. This year also marks the centenary of “Hariciye Vekaleti”, namely
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We are endowed with a diplomatic tradition that is more than 5 centuries
old, dating back to the establishment of the Office of Reis-ül Küttab.
This is why we have determined the theme for this year’s Conference as
“Turkish Diplomacy at the Centenary of National Sovereignty: From Tradition
to the Future”.
We are proud of our traditions. We swiftly implement transformations that
would help us look into the future with confidence.
We are determined to move forward towards our 2023 goals under the astute
and strong leadership of our President.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry is working day and night to robustly implement
our homegrown, national, enterprising and humanitarian foreign policy on
the ground and at the table.
Esteemed colleagues,
Turkey has one of the five largest global diplomatic and
consular networks in the world.
Currently, we have 152 Turkish Ambassadors stationed abroad, they are with
us in front of their screens, and 116 at the headquarters. We have
Embassies, Consulates General or Trade Offices almost in every time zone.
Right now, it is 5 o’clock in the morning for our westernmost Embassy in
Mexico. Whereas, it is midnight in our easternmost Embassy in Wellington.
This essentially shows the range of the work at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. The Ministry has an organization and work format that operates
around the clock.
While one mission is experiencing the sunset, another one observes the
sunrise.
What does this mean?
To begin with, it means that one of the 5th largest data
collection, analysis and demarche network is at our disposal.
Specially trained and experienced staff from 248 missions feed Ankara with
information and assessments every day to support the decision makers. They
also fulfil the resulting instructions in the countries where they are
stationed.
It is important to operate this gigantic mechanism in the most efficient
way. With great opportunity comes great responsibility.
Change and transformation are the constant facts of life. The one who
cannot adapt to change would only vanish.
Yesterday we received a detailed briefing about the digital agenda of
Turkey. We extend our thanks to Digital Transformation Office. I am proud
to say that Turkey is now going through a transformation, in fact a great
transformation in digital technologies that drive change.
(We have adopted a more agile governance approach with the Presidential
system.) Within this framework, our Ministry displays a dynamism at global
scale as well.
In fact, our Ministry has always been a pioneer in the field of
e-government applications. As with all public administration, the principle
of diplomacy is to “ keep pedaling while you are sitting on a saddle”.
Last year, again at this platform, we announced our Digital Diplomacy initiative well before the pandemic. We
set the course towards this direction in international processes such as
mediation that we spearhead. The pandemic has underlined the accuracy of
our foresight.
This year, during the Istanbul Mediation Conference we organized using
greenbox technology and which reached 22.000 people, we discussed the
importance of digital technologies for peace efforts for the third time. As
you may know, last year, in New York we co-chaired a Ministerial meeting in
this regard.
Likewise, we had set the theme of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum as “Diplomacy in Digital Age” long
before the pandemic.
In consequence, when the pandemic obliged the whole world to stay at home,
we were able to quickly accommodate to diplomacy in the digital
environment.
· During the pandemic, I attended a total of 61 diplomatic
videoconferences, 11 of which with our President.
· Our esteemed Deputy Ministers, Directors General and other colleagues
held similar meetings.
· We benefited from videoconferencing within the Ministry. We organized
meetings with our Ambassadors and Consuls General. This is how we monitored
the situation and practices in other countries with regard to the pandemic.
· We brought the Antalya Diplomacy Forum to life by using digital means. We
have transformed it from an idea into a platform to shape ideas. In this
way, we contributed also to the formation of ideas on prominent topics on
the global diplomatic agenda.
In sum, we are acting with the goal of being among the ones who lead
the digital age, not the ones who try to catch up with it.
We rank 7th in the G20 Digital Diplomacy Index. In terms of social media
interaction, we moved up to the 3rd place.
Our Digital Diplomacy initiative also contributes to the executive capacity of our Ministry. It transforms our
capabilities in line with the needs of the current age. We will continue
our
efforts to make use of technology in foreign policy and to provide more
efficient services with the help of technology.
You know that I care deeply about the quality of our services provided to
our citizens abroad. Throughout this process, not only our citizens abroad
and their relatives in our country, but the whole world has witnessed how
sensitive you are on the matter, too. Therefore, I would like to tell you
that your awareness is much appreciated. Our greatest responsibility is to
serve them well and protect their rights. We are about to launch a new
online service called “HIZIR” that answers our citizens’ calls and
questions around the clock by using artificial intelligence.
By means of our expanding diplomatic network and digital capacity, we keep
improving all together the quality of the services we offer.
It is essential to upskill our diplomats of all levels in line with the
requirements of our times. Therefore, we are already working on trainings
to develop digital skills.
Together, we will benefit more from digital technologies such as big data
and artificial intelligence in areas like public diplomacy, consular
services, strategic foresight and foreign policy analysis.
When it comes remote working, we distribute modern devices to our
headquarters and overseas missions. We set-up the necessary infrastructure to meet the growing needs for
high-speed internet connection and hardware in our Ministry, and we keep
building it up.
We also started the required infrastructure and personnel planning to make
use of big data engineering.
We exchange ideas and cooperate with other countries and institutions about
the impacts of digitalization on diplomacy.
We are deriving our strength from our traditions. At the same time, our
Ministry is embracing the future.
In its essence, diplomacy is communication and negotiation by various
means between the people who represent their countries. This is the
tradition and the future as far as we can foresee.
Naturally, diplomacy methods must adapt to the technology and features of
the current age.
Thus, we maintained our face-to-face diplomacy without pacing down despite
several travel restrictions imposed during the pandemic.
As per the beautiful saying of Ibn Arabi, “
The essence of being lies in action
.”
Hence, the visits have never stopped. I have paid 24 visits abroad since the beginning of the pandemic.
We have received 19 Heads of State or Government, and 18 Foreign Ministers.
Last week we hosted the Foreign Ministerial Meeting of the South-East
European Cooperation Process. We supported these visits with phone calls
and online meetings. His Excellency President Erdoğan has made 205 phone
calls and 11 videoconferences meanwhile I have made 251 phone calls and 50
videoconferences. Not to mention instant phone calls and messages. In other
words, we diversified our means and maintained communication and
negotiation with our interlocutors.
Since the very beginning of the pandemic, the Turkish diplomacy has kept
providing services without any interruption.
During this period, we coordinated
the most extensive repatriation operation of the history of the
Republic via our Center for Coordination and Support established within
the Ministry.
Yesterday, His Excellency President Erdoğan shared the relevant figures
again and expressed his appreciation for your work.
I also would like to thank our Center for Coordination and Support, our
Embassies and Consulate Generals and all my colleagues who contributed
to these efforts.
We also extended a helping hand to the entire world at a time when most
countries have turned inwards. Again, the figures were shared yesterday
with you and the public opinion by His Excellency President Erdoğan:
Hence, we take pride in being the leader in humanitarian affairs during the
pandemic too.
While performing these services appreciated by everyone, we had many
examples showing us that public service means serving the people. Sometimes
they made us smile, sometimes we were moved to tears.
· Our Ambassador took little Eren who was born in Thailand and his mother
Ms. Nilay to the repatriation flight. I wish Eren and his parents many
years of good health and happiness!
· Our daughter Ela, a girl with a chronic disease, could not find her
mediacation in Switzerland. Our Consulate General found it in Germany and
delivered it to her family. We wish a speedy recovery to little Ela!
· Not only through land, we also carried out repatriations from the sea. We
brought 48 fishermen who were fishing off Mauritania in the Atlantic back
to our country. We delivered medication to our sailor near the Strait of
Malacca who ran out of medication while navigating towards the Indian
Ocean. May you have fair winds!
Those are only a few examples among many others that I share with you.
We delivered direct assistance to our citizens in almost all regions, from
Latin America to Asia, from North America to Africa. We have touched their
lives. Turkey, as a “Compassionate Power”, gives a perfect
account on behalf of all humanity.
We do not want these experiences to be forgotten. Therefore, we are
mobilized to prepare a
“Compassionate Power” documentary by the next Ambassadors Conference.
The documentary will convey the story of the 21st Century Turkish diplomacy
to the present and future generations, covering our services that range
from repatriations to our experiences in crisis zones.
Distinguished Ambassadors,
The pandemic could not stop us, but it deeply affected the whole world.
It is impossible to see the future. However,
we have a folkloric saying: When it is Wednesday, we know that Thursday
is next!
At the very beginning of the outbreak, we conducted strategic foresight
studies regarding the future awaiting the humanity.
We concluded that the pandemic would accelerate the already existing
trends.
In the meantime, we are proved right in our initial assessments.
In addition, our Center for Strategic Research and the Antalya Diplomacy
Forum prepared, which you sent to all Foreign Ministers later, two of the
first studies worldwide in this regard.
To begin with, the pandemic has demonstrated the inadequacy of existing
global institutions once again.
· International organizations continued to suffer a loss of power and
reputation. It took the United Nations Security Council 100 days to put the
pandemic on its agenda. The need for reform, which we emphasize with the
motto of “The World is Bigger than Five”, has surfaced clearly.
Secondly, the pandemic has further increased the fragilities in the world.
· As the conflicts continued, humanitarian aids, peacekeeping operations
and mediation efforts in the field were disrupted.
· Fragility and political risks are increasing not only in the developing
countries, but even in the most developed economies of the world.
· The importance of effective governance and state capacity have been
reconfirmed.
Thirdly, the pandemic has also affected global power balances.
· Geopolitical rivalry between the Great Powers has gained momentum.
Tension has increased and deepened.
· Indeed all states, big or small, are engaged in an increasing rivalry.
· Major powers in terms of population and economy have also faced serious
challenges.
· International solidarity has been severely damaged. For instance, there
was a fierce competition in the procurement of medical supplies.
On the other hand, the pandemic has thoroughly accelerated technological
transformation and digitalization.
· We saw that digitalization is inevitable and can make a difference in a
variety of areas. We are almost rehearsing the future.
These are all findings that will affect our foreign policy.
We see that the issues I have emphasized in my previous speeches became
even more apparent during the pandemic.
Last year, I emphasized that the world was not a rose garden.
We are on duty in places where there are wars, coups, failed states,
suffering and persecution, bloodshed are experienced and underdevelopment
turns into cruelty for humanity.
Turkish diplomats in these tough regions continue to altruistically protect
our citizens and national interests, build friendship bridges and trade
channels.
In other words, the need for an enterprising and innovative diplomacy
to be effective on the ground, at the table, and in the intellectual
field is not diminishing. To the contrary, it is strengthening.
We will have to continue using different elements of power wisely since the basic logic of international relations will continue
to be based on struggle.
Each day we take steps that will serve global and regional peace and
prosperity in line with the fundamental objective of “ Peace at Home, Peace in the World”.
Peace and prosperity require being strong and enterprising.
Accordingly, we are building our steps in our foreign policy not by
“burying our heads in the sand” but by “having the upper hand”.
The international system is experiencing the pangs of change. We have various problems
in our region. Sometimes you have to set the scene. Sometimes it is
necessary to disrupt, in a timely manner, the plots designed for our region by
different power groups in order to protect our legitimate interests.
In either case, we do not abstain from being enterprising. Statehood
experience extending back centuries teaches us that diplomacy is most often
a struggle without weapons. We exhibit and will exhibit our indigenous
national strength both on the ground and at the table.
Distinguished Ambassadors,
Cyprus is our national cause. On this issue too, the party who blocks the
path to a solution is obvious. There is a problematic mindset that does not
see the Turkish community on the Island as their equal. The EU made this
mentality a member and crashed the hopes for a solution. On top of that, it
extends its support, at last in words, to the attempts to “grab” common
resources.
But, what is the source of the arrogance and illusion that lead them to
assume that we will let them do so?
They did not accept political equality so far. If there is no political
equality, there must be and will be sovereign equality. The Turkish
Cypriots will no longer sit at the table for the sake of negotiation. They
gave this message very clearly at the last elections.
When it comes to the Eastern Mediterranean, the issue is about equitable
sharing of resources.
Those who create instability in the region are the ones who suppose
that they can hijack the rights of Turks.
No one should expect Turkey, the country with the longest coastline in the
Eastern Mediterranean, to accept a confinement to its own shores and give
up the resources to which it is entitled. Initiatives that exclude or even
contradict us have no chance of success.
Even in the smallest of matters, one neighbour needs the other. Our
President’s message in the aftermath of the latest earthquake in İzmir has
eloquently illustrated this point of view. We want to solve the problems
with Greece through dialogue. We do not close the door to unconditional
dialogue and diplomacy.
While the Prime Minister of Greece tried to convince third countries’
public opinions by writing articles for newspapers in France, Germany and
the United Kingdom, I wrote an article for a Greek newspaper and addressed
the Greek people directly.
We said, we can live with tension and escalation if that is what you wish,
or we can choose diplomacy, dialogue and cooperation instead: the choice
belongs to Greece. Turkey is capable of going either way !
We are also offering them all kinds of reasonable diplomatic options: all
concrete proposals on exploratory talks, involving revenue sharing, and
regional conference were put forward by our side.
Our President has suggested the convening of an Eastern Mediterranean
Conference in order to address these issues with not only Greece but all
littoral countries.
We propose cooperation with all relevant actors in order to bring equity,
peace and cooperation to our fragile region, through diplomacy.
Dear Colleagues,
Turkey closely monitors and steers the developments in Syria from the perspective of national security and
regional stability. Eradicating terrorism in this neighbouring country
which has been in turbulence for 10 years, finding a political solution
which will meet the expectations of its people and ensuring the return of
refugees are our first and foremost goals.
With this understanding, we have successfully carried out operations
against the threat posed by PKK/PYD/YPG and DAESH terrorist organizations.
We did not give permission to those who tried to create a terror
corridor at our border
. We stand against the PKK/PYD/YPG’s separatist agenda and its attempts to
participate in the political process. We will not allow anyone, whomever
they may be, to legitimize terror in our region.
We maintain our engagement decisively to safeguard the ceasefire in Idlib.
We are determined to protect innocent civilians in the region.
On the other hand, in order to find a permanent solution to the conflict,
the political process must be accelerated. We are leading international
efforts in this direction.
We have keep our doors open to the ones who have fled the conflict in
Syria. Now we ensure their safe return. We have enabled 411,000 Syrians to
safely return to the areas that we have cleared from terrorism in Syria.
Dear Ambassadors,
The situation in Libya
has been among the issues at the top of our agenda this year. From the
outset, we have argued that the crisis can only be solved through political
dialogue. However, in view of our deep-rooted ties with this country, we
did not have an option of confining ourselves to expressions of support and
leaving developments to their course. Taking the initiative, we took action
to prevent chaos and preserve international legitimacy.
Turkey's training and advisory support for the
UN-recognised Government of National Accord has prevented the country from
further being dragged into civil war. It also paved the way for the UN-led
political process.
The Memorandum of Understanding on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas represented an
important step towards the protection of our legitimate interests in the
Eastern Mediterranean.
We have maintained our close contacts with the Government of National
Accord and with His Excellency Mr. Sarraj, the Head of the Presidential
Council.
We continue our efforts in coordination with all parties, especially the
UN, to establish a sustainable ceasefire on the ground and to advance an
inclusive political process while supporting the work of the Libyan
Political Dialogue Forum.
Distinguished Ambassadors,
Turkey is at the intersection of multiple problematic regions.
Unfortunately, the disputes in these regions are not being resolved. For
instance, issues of Crimea and Donbass in Ukraine, Abkhazia and South
Ossetia in Georgia and Transnistria in Moldovia are awaiting solutions.
The term “frozen conflict” is delusive. These are “conflicts with frozen
solutions”. The latest example of this is the Nagorno-Karabakh.
Naturally, Azerbaijan is not just any country for us. It is a country with
which we are connected with the understanding of “one nation, two states”.
They are “flesh and blood” to us.
We support Azerbaijan not solely because they are our brothers and sisters,
but also because they are right from the perspective of international law.
Because Turkey is always on the side of the legitimate and the rightful.
Hence, we launched an intense diplomatic mobilization right after Armenia's
attack on September 27. To begin with our President, we all explained to
our interlocutors Azerbaijan’s rightfulness according to international law.
You all work side by side with your Azerbaijani colleagues abroad. You
defend their righteous cause in the places where they are not represented.
In our contacts, we expose that Armenia is deliberately attacking
civilians, committing war crime, carrying out black propaganda against our
country to cover up its aggression, and we will continue to do so. We also
convey that this country deploys PKK/YPG terrorists and many foreign
fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Our joint efforts before multiple international organizations have echoed
from the UN Security Council to Non-Aligned Movement, from the OSCE to the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
At the current stage, Azerbaijan’s success on the ground showed that the
30-year-long occupation is no longer sustainable. After all, as of
yesterday midnight, the ending of the invasion of Ağdam, Laçin and
Kelbeçer, has been agreed to in accordance with a calendar. As you know,
the gallant army of Azerbaijan has actually captured the four out of seven
rayons, I just referred to the other three, by successful operations on the
ground. In fact, it is 1+2, while it used to be 5+2 before, only Ağdam had
remained and Azerbaijan has now taken control over a considerable part of
it. In the past, there was the 5+2 formula, and now all the 7 rayons under
occupation will have been conceded back to Azerbaijan by December the 1 st. We continue to work towards that goal.
We will keep defending Azerbaijan’s rights in every possible platform, in
contact with all the relevant actors. As Turkey and Turkish nation, we are
“one nation, two states” in this process just like before. It is our duty
to serve the well-being of brotherly Azerbaijan and its people.
We hope that Armenia has drawn the necessary conclusions, because until now
there have been 3 ceasefires and all were broken by Armenia. We appeal to
the international community: Let’s resolve this conflict, as we always
argued, in accordance to UN Security Council resolutions, on the basis of
Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We hope that the recent
agreement will also serve this goal as well as the permanent stability that
the whole region needs. Distinguished Ambassadors,
We are faced with the clear scene.
Our Allies fail to put Alliance solidarity above all considerations. For
instance, they call it “EU solidarity.” So where is NATO solidarity?
This being said, none of them can be safe outside NATO.
What is the explanation for this contradiction?
The position of our Allies regarding the issues of FETO, PKK-PYD, and the
Eastern Mediterranean is saddening.
However, we know that today, as in the past, the circles that show teeth
and talk against Turkey, ask for help from Turkey sooner or later.
A story involving Atatürk comes to my mind:
In 1933, a question about “traditional friendship” in the Ankara Boys' High
School exam intrigues Atatürk. Historian Kemal Arıburnu responds:
“...French writers refer to common acts as traditional friendship”. Atatürk
explains: “
Turkey has no traditional friends. When there are common interests,
Europeans immediately call it traditional friendship.”
Turkey contributes to security and stability in more than one basin in the
vast geography around us.
We are among the top 5 contributors to NATO operations.
In the reflection process regarding the future of NATO, we
believe that
intra-Alliance solidarity must be registered as the paramount
consideration.
Dear Friends,
We attach importance to the role of the United States in consolidating
transatlantic ties and advancing NATO reform in a way that would give
confidence to Allies.
In this period, we expect steps to be taken to eliminate the factors
contaminating our bilateral relations:
- S-400 missile defence system is purchased, it is done. Because we could
not procure its alternative from the US and our NATO Allies when we needed.
- Our exclusion from the F-35 program will negatively affect NATO's
South-eastern flank and even its Eastern strategy.
- What would be the contribution of any sanctions and a threatening
discourse to the strength of the Alliance? What interest the US might have
in this? The US needs to reflect thoroughly about this.
- The fact that they provided weapons to an enemy terrorist organization
created a really serious crisis of confidence between us.
- Likewise, our expectation concerning the ringleader of the putchist FETO
network is clear.
As the current global balances are shaken to the foundation, new
opportunities arise in our bilateral relations.
Turkey has a fundamental interest and role in finding lasting solutions
that support the regional peace and stability in crises such as Syria and
Libya.
In the light of this fact, we can open new pages in terms of our political,
security and economic cooperation in the period ahead.
Distinguished Ambassadors,
The European Union, like Turkey, is neighbouring a region which has not
been able to find its balance for the past 100 years. One of our main
objectives in our foreign policy is to create intertwined zones of
sustainable peace and development around us. Therefore, Turkey and the
European Union have a common interest in ending fragility and conflict.
Our accession process to the European Union means
negotiating a security, prosperity, peace and cooperation agreement for
the whole of Europe
, including us.
Looking at the matter through the lens of cultural and religious
antagonism, instead of common interests and principles, is a defect that
Europe cannot escape.
In our relations with the EU, some members are particularly creating
tension. So, let me point to them: Greece, the Greek Cypriot Administration
and, lately France are carrying their bilateral problems with our country
to the EU platform. They abuse membership solidarity against us.
Others watch the situation, puzzled and daunted. A silent majority among the EU members are aware of the
importance of dialogue with Turkey for Europe’s own future.
We do not have a short-term agenda characterized by contextual problems and
crises for our relations with the countries in Europe, which we are part
of. We endeavour to revitalize institutional mechanisms with a holistic
perspective.
It is possible to revive, on a positive agenda, a beneficial framework for
our relationship by preserving our accession process. There are concrete
opportunities, such as updating the Customs Union or the visa
liberalization. The issue of migration is also a common concern. The March
18 Agreement must be updated with this understanding.
Dear Ambassadors,
The past year has also been difficult for our other neighbour, Iraq. In the early days of 2020, the reckoning of foreign
forces over Iraq brought the entire region to the brink of war. I have also
visited Baghdad in the early days of the crisis upon our President’s
instruction. I stressed that we are against projecting various feuds to
Iraq. We underlined that Iraq should not be a competition field between
various powers.
In line with our goal of reaching out to all segments of Iraq, we opened
our Consulate Generals in Mossoul and Basra last year. Our work to open new
Consulates in Najaf and Kirkuk, two
cities with which we have special historical and social ties, continue.
In the past year, we have continued our fight against the PKK presence in Iraq without interruption. As a result of
our operations “Claw”, terrorist infiltration into our
country has been reduced. We will continue to do so within and beyond our
borders until the PKK is completely eradicated. PKK is now attacking the
Kurdish people in Iraq. Haven’t we always said that PKK is essentially a
threat against our Kurdish brothers and sisters?
Our support for the Iraqi Turkmen people will persist and our contacts with
the KRG continue, of course by upholding the principles of
unity and territorial integrity of Iraq. Our hope is that our Iraqi
brothers and sisters will reach the stability and prosperity they deserve
as soon as possible.
Also, the “contactless trade” mechanism that we introduced to reduce the
impact of the pandemic to our bilateral trade has also been a success.
We conduct our relations with Iran through regular contacts and
regional consultations at all levels
. We will pursue our engagement with Iran, which is going through a
difficult period due to sanctions and the Covid-19 pandemic, in order to
contribute to both the common interests of our peoples and to the regional
peace and stability.
The Palestinian issue, which has been impaired recently, remains at the
heart of the problems in the Middle East. Ignoring the Palestinian cause
would only deepen the legitimacy crisis in the region.
We will continue with our endeavours in support of Palestine against
attempts to eliminate the perspective of a two-state solution in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We will pursue our efforts to facilitate intra-Palestinian reconciliation to increase the number of
countries that recognize the State of Palestine and to strengthen
cooperation of Palestine with international organizations.
We have not been silent against the so-called US peace deal, Israel's
annexation plans, steps to disrupt Al-Quds’ legal status, and actions
against Harem Al-Sharif. Furthermore, we do not remain indifferent to the
normalization processes with Israel that are conducted to the detriment of
the interests of Palestine. We continue our efforts to make the
Organization of Islamic Cooperation more effective and visible in the
Palestinian cause.
Distinguished Ambassadors,
Our relations with our Northern neighbour Russia maintain
their positive course on the basis of common interests and mutual respect.
There is a strong mutual political will at the highest level for further
cooperation in bilateral and regional matters. We launched the TurkStream
pipeline on 8 January 2020. Our trade and tourism relations are also very
strong.
Although there are regional matters that we do not agree upon with Russia,
we attach importance to find common denominators by sustaining the
dialogue.
Our relations with our other neighbour Ukraine continue to
develop based on strategic partnership we established in 2011. We strongly
support Ukraine’s territorial integrity. We attach importance to the
protection of the rights and interests of the Crimean Tatars. We are
implementing projects in order to improve the living conditions of our
brethren.
In the Balkans, in addition to our bilateral relations, we are playing an
active role through platforms such as Trilateral Mechanisms and South East
European Cooperation Process in which we have assumed the term Presidency.
Last week, we have hosted Foreign Ministers from Balkan countries as part
of this process. Our presence in the region expands further.
Our support to our brethren and kin communities in Balkans and the rest of
the world is continuing increasingly. We feel the responsibility of each
and every brethren wherever they may be in the world.
As I always note, diplomacy is a teamwork. We represent hope, first and
foremost, for our brethren and the entire humanity together with our
relevant organizations which enhance our presence and our soft power on the
ground: like TİKA, Maarif Foundation, Presidency for Turks Abroad and
Related Communities, Yunus Emre Institute, Presidency of Religious Affairs,
Directorate General of Foundations, AFAD, the Red Crescent and the Turkish
Airlines. We know by heart that Turkey is greater than Turkey.
Distinguished Ambassadors,
We have common linguistic, historical and cultural ties with Central Asian
Republics. Developing our cooperation in all areas with the countries of
the region is among our priorities. We translate our special relations with
each brotherly country in Central Asia into concrete results at the
strategic level.
In this regard, we are pleased that the interest in the Turkic Council is
growing as well as its organizational capacity.
Its position vis-à-vis Armenia’s aggression in Nagorno-Karabag deserves
admiration. Moreover, the Summit it organized during the pandemic and the
facilitation of contacts and coordination at all levels among relevant
institutions further reinforced the solidarity among our brotherly
countries. A greater number of countries and institutions now seek a closer
relationship with the Turkic Council.
Let me underline an issue, a good deal of institutions and countries demand
a status at Turkic Council. As you know, Hungary holds an observer status.
To begin with, we have granted a status to Hungary immediately after
receiving its application. They are the only status holder for now but the
number will rise. We must define the contours for the observer status
first. Again, other statuses like that of dialogue or partnership might
also be found as it is the case in other regional organizations. We must
also limit the number of applicants and find an answer to the question
whether it may exceed that of the members. The Secretariat works on the
matter and we will subsequently discuss it within our Foreign Ministry once
the final proposals are there. The decision will then be up to the leaders
according to the criteria to be agreed upon.
Dear colleagues,
Last year in this forum, we launched our Asia Anew
initiative which addresses this region that will shape the 21st
century with a holistic view.
This year,
we took concrete steps to capitalize on the opportunities and the
potential
brought about by the rise of Asia.
New institutional mechanisms were established to determine and apply our
policies vis-à-vis the region with efficient coordination, hence we made
sure that it did not remain in only as a discourse. All our relevant
institutions/organizations and our public opinion strongly supported the
initiative, even more than we expected. The Asia Anew initiative became a
source of motivation for the business world and academic circles to add
content and momentum to their endeavours.
In this framework, our Embassies prepared biannual priority Action Plans
covering 40 main fields of activity for 31 countries.
Each country of the region is valuable to us in its own right.
As part of our Asia Anew initiative, we adopted a more dynamic approach in
our relations with regional organizations that are more forthcoming in
Asia. In South East Asia, we are deepening our cooperation with ASEAN
through our Sectoral Dialogue Partnership status and we put the action
plans in practice.
We continued our visits to and contacts with African and Latin American
countries during the pandemic in order to advance our outreach policies beyond our immediate neighbourhood.
Even during the pandemic, we visited Haiti, Dominican Republic and
Venezuela. Our efforts in Venezuela led to concrete results in terms of
domestic reconciliation. We extend many thanks to our Ambassador; we
maintained our contacts with both the government, opposition and everyone.
We took steps for many people to get out of jail, we initiated attempts in
view of the elections to facilitate important convergence and we supported
the whole process.
Dear Colleagues,
In the last five years, there have been more than 500 high-level visits to
Africa from Turkey. Recently, I have visited 6 African countries despite
the pandemic.
We officially inaugurated our new Embassy chancery in Equatorial Guinea
(Malabo). We will soon be opening new Embassies in Togo and Guinea Bissau.
As our President also stated yesterday, we continue our work to host the
Third Turkey-Africa Cooperation Summit the African Union, with which we
established a “strategic partnership” in 2008. Today, our trade volume with
the African continent exceeded 26 billion US Dollars, we have announced it
as around 23 billion in the previous Conferences so there is a constant
increase, and it is moving ahead towards the 50 billion US Dollars target.
My esteemed colleagues,
Dear Ambassadors,
The challenges testing peace and tranquillity of the world are not limited
to geopolitics. We have been saying that xenophobia and Islamophobia, which have become a problem
in Europe for a while, may gradually turn Europe into the “ Sick Man” of the world.
We strongly regret the spread of racism like a cancer towards the centre of
politics, its mixing with violence, and the recent addition of a severe
psychological torture dimension.
There you see what they are doing to the children in France, we will be
keeping a close eye on the matter. We keep track of those who dare to
lecture us on freedoms, human rights, the rights of the children and women.
We see how they become hypocrite and miserable.
Our President pointed out at the Alliance of Civilizations platform back in
2008 that in a period where “
easy access to information has facilitated the globalization of threats
of hatred, fear and intolerance is a contradiction
”. The
deepening of prejudices and conflicts is as dangerous as geopolitical
showdowns
.
Attempting to reengineer the religious beliefs of others rather than
tolerating or learning to live together is blatant arrogance. We will
continue to advocate the culture of tolerance and coexistence.
Blaspheming our Prophet (PBUH), who holds a special place in the hearts of
more than 1.5 billion people, and our sacred values cannot be presented as
freedom of expression. Our position cannot be any clearer and rightful than
this.
We are a standard-bearer on the matter in various fora like the UN, the
Council of Europe and the OSCE among others. I hereby would like to
announce that from now on we will be preparing annual reports on issues
such as Islamophobia, xenophobia and anti-immigration particularly in the
West. Through these reports, we will expose the crimes that have been
committed and follow-up on the legal proceedings.
On the other hand, perhaps the primary global issue ahead of us is to
strengthen multilateralism.
Turkish culture contains multilateralism, in other words collective
work, in its very essence and tradition. One hand washes the other and
together they wash the face.
Effective multilateralism requires multilateral institutions to be
effective
. This year, Ambassador Volkan Bozkır and Ambassador Altay Cengizer preside
over the United Nations General Assembly and the UNESCO General Conference
respectively. In such a year, we support the international organizations,
especially the UN system, to work more effectively. At the same time, we
continue our efforts to advance the presence of international
organizations, especially the UN, in our country.
Currently, we are working on making Istanbul, a regional center and a
prominent UN hub like New York, Geneva and Vienna. We received several
rental alternatives for some buildings, negotiations are ongoing and we
consider the buyout option in view of the prices. Thereby we are planning
to move all the representations we host to the same centre.
Dear Colleagues,
Honourable Turkish Ambassadors,
I am now approaching the end of another address. Today we continue our
journey as Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Presidency of Turkey. This
journey began when Celalzade Mustafa Pasha -the Chief Registrar during the
reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent- started to take over duties of
former Ottoman bureaucrats (Emin-i Ahkam).
Over the centuries, change has kept the Turkish diplomacy under continuous
pressure for adaptation. Today, as well, the world is experiencing a rapid
process of change, and the profession of diplomacy must adapt to it.
Adapting to change requires gaining influence everywhere and at all fronts.
Contacts with official authorities only in capital cities are not enough.
Diplomacy is more polyphonic and has more instruments than ever. It is now
a profession that is conducted in every continent, every country, every
city and in all domains including the cyberspace.
It is written in Evliya Çelebi’s travelogue: 355 years ago in November
1665, Ottoman Ambassador Kara Mehmed Pasha was entering the castle of Peç
(in Vienna) on a steed, along with his Quartermaster, treasurer,
servicemen and treasure wagons, accompanied by the sounds of kettledrums.
The chief messenger, who came from the castle of Peç to meet him, had
brought a horse sent by the King, and he kissed the breastplate of our
Ambassador’s robe and the King's other entourage kissed the hem of his
robe. Then, riding the horse sent by the King, our Ambassador entered the
castle of Peç and had a feast with all the foreign dignitaries in the
mansion allocated to him.
Diplomacy is a field of public service with its own procedures, language,
and traditions. Its primary interlocutors are foreigners. In this story,
you must have noticed various elements that are similar to but also very
different from those of today.
The document we used to call “hümayunnâme” is called “letter of credence”
today. Yet, we still present the letter signed by the President directly to
the receiving Head of State – and not by e-mail.
At the same time, in addition to our diplomats who have full command of
foreign languages and cultures, we are considering how to best use the
machines equipped with artificial intelligence.
However, everything does not change and will not change.
The Turkish Foreign Service is comprised of representatives of a state and
a nation that shines like the sun globally, with its civilisation,
governance skills, leaders, bright history and future, enterprising spirit
and human values.
This organization proudly waves in every corner of the world our glorious
crescent-star flag.
This organization is the eyes, ears, arms, breath and voice of Turkey.
Turkish Ambassadors, from tradition to the future, do whatever is necessary
for the profession in its best way. They acquire and use the skills of
their time.
The inspiration of our strength are our martyrs, first and foremost martyr
of democracy, Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, whom we commemorate with gratitude.
Under the leadership of our President, we are running towards the goals of
2023 and 2053 as a nation. We will continue to diligently and
enthusiastically practice our enterprising and humanitarian diplomacy,
which contribute to our national goals, and to the peace and prosperity in
all corners of the world.
You have all been meticulously chosen for this honourable mission. We have
full faith and confidence in you, and our expectations are just as high.
I wish you continued success in your work.
Please do share my best wishes with your families and colleagues.
Hoping to organize our Ambassadors Conference physically again in Turkey
next year, I salute you all once more with warmest regards and respect.
Stay healthy, thank you.