Presidency’s Director of Communications Altun: “We, as Türkiye, believe that the global health architecture should be reformed to serve all humanity.”
“In an era of global unpredictability, Türkiye, a stabilising power under our President's leadership, is ready to assume responsibility for stabilising the global health architecture.”
The "Health Diplomacy in the New World Order After the Pandemic" panel was held in Bali as part of the G20 Leaders' Summit by the Directorate of Communications.
Addressing the participants with a video message at the opening of the panel, Presidency’s Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun said that as one of the greatest challenges of our time, the COVID-19 outbreak had inflicted serious damage, deepening inequalities in global health and the economy.
Stating that a period of increased global uncertainty accompanied by the COVID-19 outbreak had been experienced, Director of Communications Altun noted that this shift has repercussions in a variety of fields, including health, trade, education, and tourism. This process, which is still ongoing, has an impact on a worldwide scale.
Emphasising that since the entire world was unprepared for such an outbreak, we must all adopt a proactive stance in the face of new crises, Director of Communications Altun noted:
“At this juncture, the G20, which represents over 85% of the global economy, 75% of global trade, and two third of the global population, shoulders significant tasks and responsibilities. It is highly critical that the G20 prioritise the transformation of the global health architecture. This will increase the significance of the G20's function. This period once again demonstrated the importance of solidarity and cooperation among states.”
Emphasising that in the fight against the outbreak, Türkiye has achieved exemplary success, Director of Communications Altun noted that its strong healthcare infrastructure and qualified staff had been the most important opportunity in the fight against the pandemic.
Stating that in addition to the completed investments in healthcare, they strengthened the healthcare infrastructure by accelerating the ongoing construction of city hospitals, Director of Communications Altun said that they took swift action to mitigate the social and economic impacts of the pandemic in addition to health measures.
Highlighting that in addition, Türkiye stressed from the beginning that the steps taken by individual nations to combat the pandemic on their own would not be sufficient to end this global crisis, Director of Communications Altun continued:
“With this understanding, Türkiye has always provided strong support to global efforts to combat the pandemic. Whatever is required during the pandemic process, from our local vaccine, TURKOVAC, to masks, medical supplies, and respirators, we have provided for the benefit of our own citizens as well as delivered them to the peoples of friendly and brotherly countries. At a time when certain countries seized the masks of others, we exerted great effort to reach out to everyone without discrimination.
At the same time, we once again felt proud to have been the nation that contributed the most in terms of humanitarian aid compared to national income. It is a fact that the pessimistic atmosphere created by the pandemic has caused many nations to focus on themselves, thereby resulting in global instability.
Even during the most pessimistic days of the global pandemic, Türkiye emphasised the need for a joint fight against COVID-19, requiring global cooperation and solidarity on all platforms. We have invited the entire international community to take action on how to make international mechanisms that cannot contribute to the global community more effective, and we reiterate this call.”
“Türkiye is ready to assume responsibility for stabilising the global health architecture”
Noting how President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ideal of "a fairer world" also covers the aspect of global health architecture, Director of Communications Altun went on to say, “Because health is not and should not be a field in which monopolies can manipulate the fate of humanity. We, as Türkiye, believe that the global health architecture should be reformed to serve all humanity. In an era of global unpredictability, Türkiye, a stabilising power under our President's leadership, is ready to assume responsibility for stabilising the global health architecture.”
Altun, on the other hand, addressed how the issue of transitioning to sustainable energy is one that Türkiye attaches importance to and considers essential for all humanity, saying that the development of a sustainable and inclusive global economy can only be led by green and sustainable energy.
In this respect, Director of Communications Altun cited the extreme significance of the net zero carbon emissions target set by Türkiye for 2053.
“We are working with all our might to spearhead innovations”
Indicating that digital transformation is another field that should be given global priority and importance, Director of Communications Altun stated that the work of the Digital Transformation Office of the Presidency since 2018 reflects the exemplary vision of Türkiye in this regard.
Director of Communications Altun added, “Our state closely monitors emerging technologies, social demands and reform trends in the public sector while also striving to pioneer these advancements. Our country, which has the world's most extensive and active e-government infrastructure, is also advancing in the digitalisation of public services, cyber security, national technologies, big data and artificial intelligence. As Türkiye, we are prepared for a changing world, and we not only work with all our might to spearhead innovations but also keep abreast of them.”
Director of Communications Altun expressed his belief that the theme of the 17th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit, "Recover Together, Recover Stronger", will be an important motto and an important principle to leave this challenging process behind, stating that they believe that by learning lessons from experiences, together, a healthcare system that provides chances for solidarity and cooperation in the field of health for the benefit of all humanity can be developed.
Director of Communications Altun added that, in that sense, the principle of "Let the people live so that the state will live" would provide a significant health diplomacy perspective for the entire world.
The panel titled " Health Diplomacy in the New World Order After the Pandemic," moderated by Assoc Prof Kılıç Buğra Kanat, Research Director at the SETA Foundation in Washington DC included Former World Health Organization South East Asia Regional Office Director Prof Dr Tjandra Yoga Aditama, Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University Faculty Member and World Indonesians Forum member Assoc Prof Şuay Nihal Açıkalın and Chairman of Research Organization for Health, National Research and Innovation Agency Prof Indi Dharmayanti.
Türkiye's efforts to advance international cooperation in the sphere of health, its humanitarian diplomacy initiatives, and its contributions to the global health system were discussed within the context of the panel. Furthermore, by emphasising the importance of international cooperation and solidarity in the face of global challenges, assessments were made on how international mechanisms that could not contribute enough to the global community could be made more efficient.
Participants stated that the event, held in accordance with the theme "Recover Together, Recover Stronger" at the 17th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in Bali, Indonesia, will be beneficial for studies on the post-Covid-19 process and the advancement of international cooperation.