President Erdoğan spoke at the G20 Leaders Summit
Addressing the G20 Summit’s first session, which focused on ‘social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty’, President Erdoğan said: “96 percent of the Gazan people, over two million people in other words, have no access to healthy food and water. The conditions of the Gazan people worsen each passing day as a result of the increasing attacks and the upcoming winter season. In the face of the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Gaza, I once again call for the establishment of an immediate and lasting ceasefire.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the G20 Summit’s first session, which focused on ‘social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty’, in Brazil.
Underscoring that the efforts aimed at achieving the “Sustainable Development Goals” for 2030, adopted nine years ago at the United Nations General Assembly, in a world where one out of ten people combats hunger have yet to reap the desired results, President Erdoğan recalled that Türkiye is the representative of a tradition that sees rushing to the aid of the needy, wherever they are in the world within the means in hand, as a duty.
“THE FAMINE RISK IN GAZA HAS REACHED ‘DISASTER’ LEVEL”
Drawing attention the launch of the “Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty”, President Erdoğan stressed that while forming this alliance, the civilians whose lives are ruined in the Middle East, Gaza in particular, as well as in Africa and Asia, should not be left to their fates, and added: “Particularly in Gaza, the famine risk has reached the ‘disaster’ level according to international classifications. 96 percent of the Gazan people, over two million people in other words, have no access to healthy food and water. The conditions of the Gazan people worsen each passing day as a result of the increasing attacks and the upcoming winter season. Türkiye has sent over 86 thousand tons of aid supply to the region. The amount of the aid we have sent to Lebanon, on the other hand, has exceeded 1.3 thousand tons. In the face of the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Gaza, I once again call for the establishment of an immediate and lasting ceasefire.”
“ZERO WASTE PROJECT HAS BECOME A GLOBAL MOVEMENT”
Reminding that Türkiye has taken important steps as a requirement of being a social state, President Erdoğan pointed out that Türkiye has one of the most inclusive and comprehensive social security systems in the world, and noted that Türkiye protects its citizens in need through different social support programmes.
Further stating that they consider playing an active role in such various food security initiatives as the “Black Sea Grain Corridor Initiative” as an important element of its humanitarian foreign policy, President Erdoğan drew attention to the “G20 Action Plan on Food Security and Sustainable Food Systems”, developed and submitted for approval during Türkiye’s 2015 G20 Term Presidency, and continued as follows: “The ‘Zero Waste Project’, which we have launched to prevent environmental pollution and promote the culture of economy, has become a movement at a global level in a short span of time. March 30 has been declared by the United Nations as the International Day of Zero Waste. I believe that the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty should include the mitigation of food waste and the zero waste initiative in its priorities. Before concluding my speech, I would like to underscore that Türkiye always stands ready for cooperation for a world in which children, youths and the elderly have access to sufficient and healthy food.”
