“We have been in power for 22 years by winning not only elections but also hearts”
Addressing AK Party’s 8th Ordinary Grand Congress, President Erdoğan said, “During our 22 years in power filled with honor and glory, we achieved an extraordinary success that entered the global political literature,” and added: “We achieved this historic success by carrying our dear nation’s hopes, expectations and dreams to the politics. When we embarked on our journey of serving the nation, we said, ‘nothing will be the same as before in Türkiye,’ and we managed to make this come true.”
President and Justice and Development (AK) Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the party’s 8th Ordinary Grand Congress in Ankara.
“OUR PARTY IS AMONG THE TOP 5 GLOBALLY IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS”
President Erdoğan said: “We are a political institution that ranks among the top five political parties globally in terms of the number of members. Four months ago, we marked our 22 years in power. During our 22 years in power filled with honor and glory, we achieved an extraordinary success that entered the global political literature. We didn’t achieve this exceptional success by stacking piles of money from dubious sources or by clinking glasses at liquor tables. We achieved this historic success by carrying our dear nation’s hopes, expectations and dreams to the politics.”
President Erdoğan stated: “When we embarked on our journey of serving the nation, we said, ‘nothing will be the same as before in Türkiye,’ and we managed to make this come true. We first made the strength of our cause the strength of our country. Subsequently, we, with the strength of our country, built a Türkiye that is a leader both in its region and the world.”
“WE WILL NEVER DEVIATE FROM THE DIRECTION OUR NATION SET FOR US”
“We have been in power for 22 years by winning not only elections but also hearts and minds,” President Erdoğan stressed. “We have been at the helm of Türkiye for 22 years because we knock on hearts before we knock on doors and because we win hearts and minds one by one. The honor of winning the hearts and minds of our nation and the honor of obtaining a place for ourselves in the hearts of our people is more than enough for us. This we will never forget. We will never forget our elders praying for us. We will never deviate from the direction our nation set for us. We will continue on our path shoulder to shoulder with our nation.”
President Erdoğan went on: “While a new world is being rebuilt, Türkiye must get rid of it burdens, first and foremost the scourge of terrorism. The days when the dark shadow of terror, violence and weapons will totally disappear from our country and region are hopefully very near. As Turks, Kurds and Arabs, we will stick together and shatter the wall of terror that has risen on the blood of our children for 40 years. Following the removal of the terror issue, doors to a new period will inshallah open up for democracy, development, brotherhood and regional integration. Therefore, Türkiye will be able to handle its chronic problems and the requests from various segments of the society on a more sterile and more healthy foundation.”
“WE WILL ACHIEVE OUR GOAL OF A TERROR-FREE TÜRKİYE”
Underscoring that democracy is the driving force of economy, foreign policy and politics in Türkiye, President Erdoğan said: “An inclusive democracy that embraces all of the 85 million will consolidate our line of brotherhood, which constitutes our internal front. To this end, we will make the most of the opportunities before us. Hoping for the best and preparing for the worst, we will achieve our goal of a terror-free Türkiye. This will undoubtedly annoy the most those who thrive on the ideological backyard of the terrorist organization and show animosity against our state and nation. No matter what they do, they won’t be able to prevent us from achieving our goal of a terror-free Türkiye.”
President Erdoğan continued his remarks as follows: “I would like to remind those, who fail to see not only the flashy terminology behind which the separatist terror takes shelter but also FETO and the July 15 reality, of the fact that the Fetullah Terrorist Organization entered a period of disintegration and collapse both at home and abroad following the death of its traitorous ringleader in Pennsylvania. Our fight against this traitorous organization will continue with determination both at home and abroad until the total elimination of the FETO threat.”
“WE HAVE ELEVATED TÜRKİYE TO THE LEAGUE OF TRILLION-DOLLAR ECONOMIES”
Citing some of the achievements reflecting the good performance of the Turkish economy, President Erdoğan stated: “In line with the principle of investments, production and exports, we have increased our national income six-fold in dollar terms. We have elevated Türkiye to the league of trillion-dollar economies. Our share from the global economy has expanded from 0.7 percent to 1.1 percent. Our national income per capita skyrocketed from 3,600 dollars previously to 13,243 dollars in 2023. We will inshallah exceed 15,000 dollars with the announcement of last year’s data.”
President Erdoğan further stressed: “In industry, we have boosted our added value production from 95 billion dollars to 320 billion dollars. In purchasing power parity, our economy ranked the 11th globally and the 4th in Europe in 2023. We have consolidated our might in every sector from automotive to agriculture to tourism.”
“OUR CENTRAL BANK’S RESERVES HAVE SURPASSED 173 BILLION DOLLARS, A RECORD HIGH IN OUR REPUBLICAN HISTORY”
“Today, we are top UAV maker worldwide. We are in the 11th place in the world in defense industry exports. One of our defense industry companies reached 300,000 dollars in exports per employee, outperforming global giants and obtaining top place in this area,” President Erdoğan noted. “The number of automobiles in Türkiye has increased from just 4.5 million in 2002 to nearly 16.5 million at the present. The number of tractors, indispensable to farmers, nears 1.6 million. The number of annual automobile purchases has increased from 91 thousand to 1 million, an 11-time increase.”
President Erdoğan added: “Our economic programme, nearly two years into its implementation, has started to pay dividends. Our Central Bank’s reserves have surpassed 173 billion dollars, a record high in our Republican history. This figure stood at just 27.5 billion dollars when we first came to power. Concurrently with production and exportations, the employment in our country in also rapidly increasing. Last year alone, we created additional employment for over 1.1 million people. We have decreased the rate of unemployment to around 8.5 percent. We have allocated a source of nearly 75 billion dollars over the past two years to heal the wounds caused by the February 6 earthquakes, the disaster of the century.”
