Erdogan at the Government Summit: We are keen on the security of the Gulf and the Middle East
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed on Tuesday his country’s keenness on the security of the Gulf and the Middle East region, voicing Ankara’s efforts to be a bridge between countries.
This came in a recorded speech by the Turkish President that was delivered as part of the World Summit of Governments currently being held in Dubai. Erdogan was scheduled to attend the event, but the events that Turkey is currently witnessing following the devastating earthquake have prevented that.
The Turkish President thanked Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for hosting the World Summit of Governments.
In the recorded message, Erdogan expressed the hope that the summit would be beneficial to humanity and that the consultations it is witnessing would contribute to world peace and justice.
He was also pleased to meet summit participants “even if through a video message,” and Erdogan said, “Basically, I had planned to be with you personally, however, we could not achieve that because of the earthquakes that occurred in our country on February 6.”
“We do not differentiate between our security and that of the Gulf countries and the Middle East region either,” Erdogan said, noting that Turkey “seeks to be a bridge in relations between states.”
Referring to the devastating earthquake that hit his country and left tens of thousands of people dead and injured, the Turkish president stressed that all countries had joined Turkey in this disaster, which “proved the importance of international solidarity, and Turkey will emerge from the crisis as soon as possible.”
Some 20 million people were affected by the quake disaster, the Turkish president said, adding that his country had put all its resources into relief work.
He pointed out that 81,000 injured people survived the earthquake and a large part of them left hospitals after receiving treatment, noting at the same time that Turkey will continue its rescue and assistance operations, and will work to rebuild the affected area as soon as possible.
He thanked all the countries that stood in solidarity with Turkey during the earthquake disaster, stressing that “it is important that we share in facing global challenges.”
