Statement by H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the Expanded Extraordinary Meeting of OIC Executive Committee, 12 August 2014, Jeddah Statement by H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu at the Meeting of Turkey-CARICOM Consultation and Cooperation Mechanism, 18 July 2014, İstanbul Speech of H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Conference on “International Development Cooperation: Trends and Emerging Opportunities -Perspectives of the New Actors”, 20 June 2014, Istanbul Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, at the 41st Session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, 18 June 2014, Jeddah Speech Delivered by H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu at the Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement, 28 May 2014, Algeria Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 4th Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, 21 May 2014, Shanghai Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Meeting of Group of Friends of the UN Alliance of Civilizations, 2 April 2014, New York Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the OIC Executive Committee Meeting on the Latest Developments in the Central African Republic, 20 February 2014, Jeddah Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Geneva II Conference, Montreux, 22 January 2014 Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, at the 16th Session of the D-8 Council of Foreign Ministers, 19 December 2013, Islamabad Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 29th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, 12 December 2013, Yerevan Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 21st Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization, 26 November 2013, Tehran Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 12th Ministerial Meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Member States, 25 November 2013, Manama Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, at the High Level Segment Meeting During the 64th Excom Meeting of UNHCR, Geneva, 30 September 2013 Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Group of Friends Ministerial Meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations, 27 September 2013, New York Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the meeting entitled “LDC Graduation: The Way Towards MDG Acceleration, Sustainable Development and Structural Transformation”, 27 September 2013, New York Fourth Ministerial Meeting of the Global Counter Terrorism Forum Opening Speech by H.E. Ahmet Davutoglu Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, 27 September 2013, New York Address by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 22nd Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, İstanbul, 29 June 2013 Speech Delivered by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, at the 28th Ministerial Meeting of BSEC, 21 June 2013, Odessa Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, at the OIC Donor Conference in Support of The City of Al-Quds, Baku, Azerbaijan, 11 June 2013 Speech delivered by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Mali, 13 May 2013, Jeddah Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Somalia Conference, 7 May 2013, London Address by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Third Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process, 26 April 2013, Almaty Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, at the Third Review Conference of the Chemical Weapons Convention, 9 April 2013, The Hague Statement by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the 24th Summit Meeting of the League of Arab States, 26 March 2013, Doha Speech Delivered by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, in the University of London School of Economics and Political Science, 7 March 2013, London Address by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the UN Human Rights Council, 25 February 2013, Geneva Statement by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey at the Ministerial Meeting Preparatory to the Twelfth Session of the Islamic Summit Conference, 4 February 2013, Cairo Speech Delivered by H.E. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, at the Ministerial Meeting of BSEC,15 December 2012, İstanbul Opening Remarks by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey at the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum, 14 December 2012, Abu Dhabi
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  5. Speech Delivered by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, at the Friends of Yemen Ministerial Meeting, 27 September 2012, New York
Speech Delivered by Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, at the Friends of Yemen Ministerial Meeting, 27 September 2012, New York

Your Excellency President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi,

My Dear Colleague Foreign Secretary Mr. William Hague,

Your Royal Highness Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah,

At the outset, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Saudi Arabia, UK and Yemen for co-chairing this group as well as this timely the meeting.

I also wish to congratulate President Abdu Rabbu Manssour Nadi and members of the Yemeni Government for their tireless efforts to maintain peace and stability in Yemen through negotiations and peaceful means. In that sense, Yemen sets a significant example for the region.

Turkey and Yemen have been enjoying deep-rooted relations for centuries. Yemen has a distinct place in the hearts and minds of all Turkish people.

Every Turkish citizen feels a strong bond and compassion for Yemen due to rich common memories and heritage. I know that Yemeni people have similar feelings towards our country too.

Therefore, we feel a special privilege and responsibility to cooperate with brotherly Yemen in every field possible, as our sisters and brothers have been going through difficult times. Turkey is following the situation in Yemen very closely and appreciates and supports the political compromise that was reached last year.

Yemen came a long way since the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative took effect in November 2011. The National Reconciliation Government was set up in December 2011 and the Presidential election was held in February 2012. These steps were significant achievements. The international community appreciates the progress so far in Yemen to find a negotiated solution to its current conflicts. We believe that Yemen’s success can inspire other countries in the region , which are facing similar problems.

Recently, Yemen entered into the second phase of the transition period with regard to the GCC initiative and during this period of two years, Yemen will try to establish a new political system. The success of the transition period will depend on the active participation of all sides in the process, particularly the youth, the Southern Movement and the Houthis.

At the current stage, the National Dialogue Conference, the preparation of the new constitution and the election law are the main priorities of the transition period. We believe that the Yemeni identity should be the prevailing notion in the dialogue and everyone should uphold this common denominator. The dialogue should also produce a political compromise that is acceptable to all the Yemenis.

In this context, we have been engaging our Yemeni brothers and sisters with intensive cooperation involving expertise sharing and institutional support. In this vein, we are also actively participating in the “National Dialogue Conference Working Group” meetings that are being held in Sana’a together with the other members of the international community to contribute to the political process in Yemen.

However, we all know that the solutions to the problems of Yemen should come from Yemen itself. Therefore, all the parties concerned must work in harmony and in good faith to produce solutions to challenges that Yemen is currently faced with. We, the international community, are simply here to help you in this endeavour.

I am confident that the National Dialogue Conference will be held in a spirit of reconciliation and solidarity. The success of this conference will take Yemen one step closer to the permanent stability and prosperity that the future has in store for Yemen.

All the parties in Yemen should know that transitional justice is a concept applied in the countries which are going through extraordinary circumstances. Yemen is one among them.

During such periods, transitional justice mechanisms are proved to be very useful in terms of reaching an agreement. In our view, if we are talking about a renewal of the social contract in Yemen, the transitional justice law in Yemen should take into account the rights and concerns of all the stakeholders including the victims of the North-South war of 1994, the 2005 Saada war against Houthis and the popular protests of 2011.

Such a comprehensive approach is the only way to gain the support of all Yemenis for the political process initiated in this transitional period.

In this context, I would like to call on all the parties in Yemen to facilitate the approval of the transitional justice law by the Parliament as it offers an important element for the reconciliation in the country.

Our efforts to help the Yemeni people resolve its problems would not fully succeed if we ignore the need for humanitarian and development assistance to this country. In this vein, our foreign aid agency, the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) has recently opened an office in Sana’a. Through this office, we hope to contribute better to the economic development and needs of Yemen.

The Turkish NGOs such as “Kimse Yok Mu?” (Anybody there?), İHH and Doctors Worldwide are also working in Yemen to deliver humanitarian assistance.

Besides, our trade relations with Yemen are also expanding. We intend to hold a Joint Economic Commission meeting next month in Sana’a to explore ways of further expanding our trade and economic ties. Furthermore, in addition to Sana’a, the Turkish Airlines will start flights to Aden as of 1 October 2012.

As we all know, security holds the key to any political, social and economic development. Therefore, we are implementing education and training programs for the members of the Yemeni Police. Yemeni cadets have enrolled in the Turkish Police academy this year. We are also working on joint training programs for the Yemeni military personnel.

Before I conclude, I would like to announce from this floor that Turkey has decided to allocate 100 Million Dollars to be used in different social, economic and cultural development projects in Yemen. This commitment is a clear indication of our will to help our Yemeni brothers and sisters and our resolve for the stability, security and prosperity of Yemen.

It is my strong belief and conviction that Yemen will successfully balance the legitimate demands of its people and the realities in the country ensuring that this transitional period will end in success.

The Turkish people and the Government are always stand hand in hand with the Yemenis in this period and continue to make every effort for the peace and prosperity of Yemen so that our brothers and sisters who are the grand-daughters of the Queen of Sheba and the grand-sons of Uveys Bin Amir-i Kareni (Veysel Karani) regain their charmed land’s ancient name: “Arabia Felix”.

Thank you.