In a speech following the Presidential Cabinet Meeting, President Erdoğan conveyed Türkiye’s get well wishes to the brotherly people of Pakistan hit by floods, and said: “As Türkiye and the Turkish people, it has been impossible for us to remain indifferent to the situation which has caused many problems from in healthcare to food, infrastructure to housing; and we haven’t. 50 thousand tents and 100 thousand packages of foodstuff and cleaning products have been prepared for shipment to the region under the coordination of the AFAD and with the support of our 16 NGOs.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed citizens following the Presidential Cabinet Meeting at the Presidential Complex.
“On August 30 Victory Day, we held a series of events in Ankara. We came together with the relatives of the National Struggle heroes as well as other guests during the State Cemetery and during the August 30 reception of congratulations and the evening concert. I believe that the August 30 concert performed at the Presidential Complex was an event that befitted the glory of the centenary of the Great Victory.
On the same day, we shared the joy of our lieutenants who have newly joined our military with the commencement and flag handover ceremony at the Army War Academy. The following day, on August 31, we attended the commencement and flag handover ceremony at the Naval and Air War Academies.
“GREECE IS NOT OUR INTERLOCUTOR SINCE IT IS NOT OUR EQUAL IN POLITICAL, ECONOMIC OR MILITARY TERMS”
Let me take this opportunity to remind about Greece, which has recently escalated its harassments and disrespect towards Türkiye, that Greece is not our interlocutor since it is not our equal in political, economic or military terms.
We attended the opening ceremony of the judicial year on September 1 like every year. During the opening ceremony of the judicial year, we told members of the judiciary about our search for justice from past to the present day as well as the works we conduct in this regard and the reforms we plan to make in the future.
At the Black Sea leg of the TEKNOFEST, the fifth of which took place in Samsun last Saturday, we met with youths. We grow more confident about the future whenever we witness the knowledge, capacity, determination and industriousness of our youths at the TEKNOFEST, which has now become a global brand.
Tomorrow, we will be setting out on a Balkans trip covering Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia. As Türkiye, which symbolizes peace, serenity, development and justice, we continue to do our part in this geography where tensions have escalated recently.
Attending next week the Shanghai Five’s meeting in Uzbekistan, we will seek ways to promote our country’s rights and interests in the Central and Eastern Asia.
The week after that, we will explain our take on the topics that are on the regional and global agenda, and will have a large number of talks and meetings at the United Nations General Assembly.
Türkiye’s increasing might, influence and responsibilities in its region and the world tell us to constantly expand our horizon, diversify our relations and seize the opportunities. To achieve this, we need to both stick firmly to our goals in politics and economy at home and turn global developments to our advantage.
“WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE HOPE OF ALL THE OPPRESSED”
Türkiye sees standing by all the oppressed anywhere in the world as a responsibility arising from its civilization and history. In this spirit, we, together with our official bodies and NGOs, have become the world’s leading country in terms of humanitarian development aid in proportion to national income. We will continue to be the hope of all the oppressed as a nation that believes in abundance in sharing.
We display the same stance in the flood disaster in Pakistan, as well. To the Turkish state and nation, Pakistan has a meaning way beyond being an ordinary country. The people of that region, with which we shared the same state roots centuries ago, have always embraced our brotherhood and showed their appreciation. We never have and never will forget the fact that it was our Pakistani brothers and sisters, a part of the Indian Muslim community at that time, who lent us the greatest support back then. We have seen the people and state of Pakistan by our side whenever we have been in trouble throughout the republican history.
The scenes that emerged following the flood disaster that hit Pakistan and left an important part of the country submerged in water have ripped apart our hearts as the 85 million. Two thirds of the country’s lands have remained submerged in flood waters as the glaciers at high mountains melted due to monsoon rains and global warming.
“WE OFFER OUR GET WELL WISHES TO THE PEOPLE OF PAKISTAN”
We offer our get well wishes and condolences over this flood disaster, which killed 1.100 people, demolished 325 thousand houses, damaged 733 thousand houses, left 800 thousand hectares of cultivated lands covered in mud, and slaughtered 735 thousand livestock.
As Türkiye and the Turkish people, it has been impossible for us to remain indifferent to situation which caused many problems from in healthcare to food, infrastructure to housing, and we haven’t. Our Minister of Interior and Minister of Environment and Urbanization went in person to the region and inspected on site the disaster and what works should be done. 50 thousand tents and 100 thousand packages of foodstuff and cleaning tools have been prepared for shipment to the region under the coordination of the AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency) and with the support of our 16 NGOs.
11 planes and 2 benevolence trains have left for the region as of today. The third train is to set out tomorrow. What is more, essential goods supplied locally have started to be delivered in the region. We will continue to share the means and tools in our possession with our Pakistani brothers and sisters through the newly formed air bridges and benevolence trains until we heal their wounds. We aim to dispatch a total of 500 thousand foodstuff boxes, one half to be procured by our NGOs the other half by our governors’ offices, to Pakistan by sending off two trains per week.
I invite our philanthropists to support the aid campaigns run by the AFAD and our NGOs for our Pakistani brothers and sisters affected by the disaster. We once again offer our get well wishes to our Pakistani brothers and sisters.”