Your Excellency Mr. President, Esteemed First Lady,
Honourable Heads of State and Government,
Distinguished Guests,
Welcome to Antalya, which has been cradle of civilizations for thousands of
years.
The Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which we are organising the third edition this
year, has already become an important brand and a platform to
exchange views on diplomacy, highlighting diversities and real
problems.
We are glad to host here statespersons, opinion leaders, academics,
business leaders, members of the media, and the youth.
The Antalya Diplomacy Forum is willing to be a platform, that;
- embraces each and every issue and aspires to reflect the
common sense and consciousness of humanity,
- prioritizes diplomacy and solidarity among states
and societies,
- provides a venue where people from
different cultures can discuss their problems in their own words
and from their own perspective; and where different continents can exchange
views with each other,
- promotes inclusiveness over polarization, and
common sense over tensions.
It is our sincere belief that together with you, our Esteemed Guests, we
will achieve the goals of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.
Your Excellency Mr. President, Distinguished Guests,
International relations are increasingly becoming
more multidimensional and involve multi-stakeholders.
Traditional diplomacy used to be limited to State-to-State
relations and was carried out only by diplomats.
Today, diplomacy has gone beyond inter-State relations.
New actors, new methods, new platforms and even new issues
have transformed diplomacy.
What has remained unchanged, however, is the need for diplomacy.
Today, many areas, from economy to security, from technology to energy,
from transportation to culture have become the main subjects of diplomacy.
While a multipolar international system is becoming more
prominent, efforts to achieve results through hard power are
increasingly coming to the fore.
From Africa to Latin America, from Europe to Asia and the Middle East,
there is a growing need to achieve and obtain sovereignty, prosperity and
security through reconciliation.
For this reason, we have set the main theme of this year's Antalya
Diplomacy Forum as “Advancing Diplomacy in Times of Turmoil ”.
We have prepared an intensive and comprehensive program
for you.
In the course of the forum, while we discuss the
issues that are of close concern to the participating countries and the
international community, we will at the same time debate the prospects for a more peaceful and
prosperous future, from a strategic point of view.
Your Excellency Mr. President,
Distinguished Guests,
As you know, the current international order does not generate
peace or stability.
Nor does it generate justice or equality.
It is obvious that at a time when strong institutions and partnerships are
needed, the international system is steadily weakening.
In today’s international order, every single day we witness incidents which
demonstrate
that "might is right" and injustices continue in every
sphere.
However, we know that
no order can be sustainable if it is not based on justice.
Certainly, there are countries with principles that are
aware of this deteriorating trajectory and raise their voices for global
justice.
Justice is a notion that has a profound place in our
tradition.
Türkiye constructively contributes to the resolution of
problems and displays a principled and effective stance in the midst of
crises and conflicts.
Under the leadership of H.E. President, our long standing foreign policy
aims to establish a
belt of peace, stability and prosperity, starting from our near abroad.
As we have all been witnessing for a long time,
our President, with all his sincerity and persistence, has been
striving, in all his power, for the establishment of an effective, just
and inclusive international order
that will eliminate global injustices.
Your Excellency Mr. President,
Distinguished Guests,
Loss of legitimacy and the inefficiency in the international system cause
more violence and brutality.
Therefore, we have no time to lose.
We need diplomacy immediately, we need it now.
The unfolding events in Gaza is the most
evident sign of the legitimacy crisis
of the international system.
The snapshot of Gaza today displays a
catastrophic moment where the hypocrisy of the international system
cannot be concealed.
Today, the American soldier who set himself on fire because
he could no longer bear his complicity in the massacre in Gaza is an
explicit sign of the legitimacy crisis of the international system.
We also notice that the people of the West with honour are
no longer indifferent to this atrocity.
Picasso had immortalized with his artwork
the massacre in the city of Guernica
during the Spanish Civil War in Spain.
For the first time since 1937, sirens went off in Guernica, this time for
Palestine.
People worldwide call for a ceasefire. The global conscience calls for
ceasefire.
The Muslim World is protesting, the Global South is protesting, people with
conscience in the West are protesting.
Everyone who upholds human values calls for the end of the massacre in
Gaza.
But the
perpetrators of the massacre are blind and deaf to this outcry
...
Today, when we talk about "the crisis of the international system", we are
not referring to an abstract concept.
We are talking about a reality in which the cries of the oppressed, the
cries of those who demand justice, day by day, moment by moment, are the
nails on the coffin of this system that can no longer produce solutions.
We are talking about a death of conscience, a loss of legitimacy where even
mourning for the victims and the oppressed is punished, where being human
is a crime.
In order to prevent the repeat of the violence in Gaza, we need to take all
the required steps. What needs to be done should be done now.
From the first day of the crisis, we have been
continuing our efforts at all levels
in order to put an immediate end to the violence against the people of
Gaza.
Since the beginning of the crisis, we have been underlining that we are
ready to assume responsibility together with the countries of the region,
including guarantorship.
We, as the Gaza Contact Group, will discuss alternative solutions and how
to stop the bloodshed in this afternoon.
Your Excellency Mr. President,
Distinguished Guests,
Another reflection of the crises in the international system is the
Russia-Ukraine War, now in its third year.
At the current phase of the war, we need to
seriously look into the ways to bring the parties together.
As Türkiye, we are ready as ever as before to make every effort to
facilitate peace negotiations.
At the same time, we continue our work to restore the
safety of navigation in the Black Sea and to ensure the safety of the
grain trade.
Your Excellency Mr. President,
Distinguished Guests,
The global system remains incapable of solving regional problems, because
the interests of the hegemons are prioritized.
For this reason, with an understanding based on
regional ownership, Türkiye is pioneering the efforts to solve the problems in its region by
incorporating new methods, actors and platforms.
The international system has failed for many years to provide a solution to
the crisis in Syria.
Türkiye has launched the Astana Process with the sense of
regional ownership. This helped to mitigate the outcomes of the conflict
and to discuss the way towards a political solution.
The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia is very close
to be resolved, thanks to regional ownership initiatives.
On the basis of our efforts for regional cooperation and integration,
we supported the gathering of the Turkic world on an
institutional ground through the
Organization of Turkic States.
Energy and connectivity projects are another dimension of
regional ownership.
In this regard, we prioritize the projects that focus on needs of the
region rather than those imposed globally.
We support initiatives such as
TANAP, TAP, “Trans-Caspian East-West-Middle Corridor” and the
Development Road Project.
Fight against terrorism is another issue that requires
regional solidarity and cooperation.
We regret to see that a joint position cannot be adopted against the threat
of terrorism, which manifests itself in different forms in
various continents.
Under these circumstances, acting with common wisdom and
through regional cooperation has become more important in
the fight against terrorism.
Türkiye maintains its unwavering support to the efforts in the
Middle East and Africa
to combat terrorism.
Your Excellency Mr. President,
Distinguished Guests,
We attach importance to our collaboration with
regional cooperation mechanisms,
particularly the African Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation,
the Arab League, the European Union, ASEAN, CELAC, the Economic Cooperation
Organization and the Organization of Turkic States.
We put all efforts to strengthen our
friendships and cooperation beyond our near abroad
and to take full advantage of diplomacy for this purpose.
We are deepening our relations with the countries in the African continent,
which holds special place in our foreign policy. We have developed a
comprehensive cooperation on the basis of mutual respect and equal
partnership.
We have an intensive cooperation with African countries, from security to
health.
We have thousands of years of historical, cultural and humanitarian ties
with the Asian continent.
We promote our relations with the Asian countries through a comprehensive
and multidimensional approach, within the framework of the
Asia Anew Initiative.
The ties between our peoples are strengthening day by day on the basis of a
sound ground established under our
Latin America and Caribbean Opening Policy.
We strive to amplify, on multilateral platforms, the voices of our friends
in all these geographies, who are affected by
climate change, debt burden, food security crisis and problems in
development.
Your participation in our Forum from different corners of the world shows
that all these efforts have borne fruit.
I believe that the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in addition to the
new perspectives
it will bring to international relations, will pave the way for the
realization of new practices.
The Forum is
different from similar platforms around the world by being open to
diversities, by its comprehensiveness and by producing regional
solutions
to global crisis areas.
The Antalya Diplomacy Forum is not a monolithic, monotonous platform where
the same notes are played with different instruments. It strives to be a
platform where,
- The reality we live in is discussed,
- Different approaches are voiced,
- Different experiences are shared, and
- Different world imaginations compete for the common good.
It strives to be a forum which endeavours to share our views and negotiate
based on our very distinct perspectives.
Diplomacy will only find its true place when these differences are
discussed.
With these feelings and thoughts;
- I would like to express our gratitude to His Excellency Mr.
President for the strong support he has given to the Antalya Diplomacy
Forum from the very beginning and his auspices.
- I would also like to thank Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu for his great
contribution for the Forum,
- I wish the Forum great success and,
- And I greet you all with respect.