Cumhuriyet Bayramı Resepsiyonu konuşma notu
(29 Ekim, 2015, Continental Oteli/Luanda)

Esteemed Representatives of the Government of Angola
Secretaries of State,
Dear Colleagues,
Distinguished Guests,
Kıymetli Vatandaşlarımız,

It is a great honor and pleasure to celebrate together with you the 92nd anniversary of the foundation of the Turkish Republic.

On this day, we recall the heroic struggles of the Turkish nation, which achieved victory in the National War of Liberation despite conditions of daunting adversity, under the leadership of the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Since the foundation of the Republic our foreign policy has been guided by Atatürk’s motto of “Peace at Home, Peace in the World”.

Today, with its 800 billion dollar economy and 400 billion dollar foreign trade volume, Turkey is the 18th largest economy in the world and the 7th in Europe. Located at a geostrategic crossroads, Turkey lies at the center of different regions, continents and cultures. Our historical heritage, as well as our democracy, economic progress and social development enables us to meet the major challenges of our geography and of our times.

Unfortunately, instability, terrorism and violent extremism are among these challenges. Despicable terrorist attacks, whichever terrorist organization they may involve, remind us that terrorism has no religion, no ethnicity and no geography; and, that it should be condemned unconditionally. Terrorism is a global phenomenon, which must be addressed through effective bilateral and multilateral cooperation - a policy which Turkey has long advocated.

A related issue is the refugee crisis. For its part, Turkey has welcomed more than 2 million Syrians, 200.000 Iraqis, and many others, all fleeing from the conflicts in their homelands.
So far, Turkey has invested almost 8 billion dollars for their well-being. More than 55.000 seaborne migrants have been rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard.

Turkey has assumed its humanitarian responsibilities not only in its immediate neighborhood, but has also provided relief to different regions and countries from Afghanistan to Haiti and Myanmar to Somalia.

In fact, in line with our tradition of humanitarian diplomacy, Turkey has become the third biggest donor of humanitarian aid and the biggest refugee-hosting nation in the world.

In order to address the complex humanitarian agenda in a holistic manner, we look forward to hosting the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit on 23-24 May 2016 in Istanbul.

Caros Convidados,

Turkey, as the current President of the G-20, has highlighted the importance of international cooperation, coordination and solidarity in addressing global uncertainties and risks.

We have also made every effort to strengthen the dialogue and interaction between the G-20 and Africa. In this vein, a Conference on “Energy Access in Sub-Saharan Africa” was held on the 1st of October in Istanbul, with the participation of the Ministers of Energy from both the continent and the G20 countries.

Moreover, the Summit of G20 leaders will take place soon, on 15-16 November in Antalya.

Expanding cooperation with Africa is an important pillar of Turkey’s multi-faceted foreign policy. We will continue working with all our African partners on the basis of mutual benefit and in accordance with the principle of “African solutions to African challenges”.

In the context of Turkey’s Partnership with Africa, the II. Turkey-Africa Summit was successfully held in November 2014 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Summit outlined the framework for Turkish-African cooperation for the next five years.

The implementation plan covers many areas of cooperation such as political matters, trade and investment, agriculture, health, peace and security, energy and tourism.

With regard to our bilateral and multilateral relations with African countries, I should like to note that, there have been 13 Presidential, 8 Prime-Ministerial and over 50 ministerial visits to Africa from Turkey in the last decade. We are also greatly gratified by the even higher number of reciprocal high level visits from Africa to Turkey in this period.

I hope that we will be able to schedule a high-level visit soon between Angola and Turkey as well.

This year is a special one for Angola. Let me extend to all Angolans our warm and heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Angolan independence.

We are fully aware of the economic and social progress made, especially in the last 13 years of peace, under the leadership of H. E. President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.

We equally appreciate the valuable contributions Angola is making through diplomacy to peace and security in the Great Lakes region, as well as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

Angola, is no doubt one of Africa’s leading countries and one of our most important partners on the continent.

In this context, we are encouraging Turkish businessmen to invest in Angola, and are seeking to expand not just economic but also cultural and educational ties. A successful visit of the trade delegation, led by H.E. Adnan Yıldırım, Deputy Minister of Economy, which included 60 businessmen, took place to Luanda in April.

This gave us the opportunity to expand commercial cooperation by holding a conference, conducting business-to-business meetings and setting up the Turkish-Angola Business Council.

Furthermore, just last week, 26 Turkish companies attended the Luanda International Construction Fair (PROJEKTA 2015). We expect such trade-oriented visits will continue in the future.

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), with 15 coordination offices in Africa and 40 offices worldwide, is carrying out numerous assistance projects and programs in nearly all countries of Africa. This year, in cooperation with the Lwini Foundation, TIKA completed its first project in Angola.

50 children’s wheel chairs procured in Turkey were donated to those who need them here in Luanda. I sincerely believe this pilot project will be the first of other such examples of bilateral humanitarian cooperation that will take place in the near future.

Ladies and gentleman,

Allow me to say a few words to the members of the Turkish community in Luanda.

“Değerli Vatandaşlarımız,

Türkiye Cumhuriyetinin kuruluşunun 92. Yıldönümünü kutlamak üzere sizlerle biraraya gelmekten büyük memnuniyet duyuyorum.

Cumhuriyetimiz, Atatürk ve silah arkadaşlarının önderliğinde, milletimizin azim ve kararlılığıyla kurulmuş en büyük eserdir. Bu anlamlı günde, bu ebedi eseri yaratan bütün şehit ve gazilerimizi şükran ve minnetle anıyoruz.

O aziz neslin bize miras bıraktığı çağdaş uygarlık hedefine ulaşma ve aşma azmimizi yineliyoruz. Tüm konuklarımızı saygıyla selamlıyor, Cumhuriyet Bayramlarını kutluyorum.”

Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,

Finally, let me propose a toast to the friendship and partnership between Angola and Turkey.

Viva Angola! Viva Turquia!
Obligado a todos.