“Migration is one of the most sensitive issues in the entire world”
Speaking at the MUSIAD EXPO 2024, President Erdoğan said: “Migration is one of the most sensitive issues of our time, not only for countries like ours located on transit routes, but for the entire world.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the MUSIAD EXPO 2024 in Istanbul.
Praising the international business forum’s theme of “Migration: Humanitarian and Economic Dimensions,” President Erdoğan said: “Migration is one of the most sensitive issues of our time, not only for countries like ours located on transit routes, but for the entire world, developing and developed countries alike. For Türkiye, migration is a much older concept compared to many other countries in the world. We have been faced with migration movements throughout history due to our geographical location as well as our social and cultural ties.”
“WE OPENED OUR DOORS TO JEWS AND CHRISTIANS”
President Erdoğan recalled that as the Ottoman Empire's territorial losses accelerated from the 19th century onwards, massive migration movements from Crimea, the Caucasus and the Balkans began.
Noting that in the last two centuries, they welcomed kinsmen who were in trouble and exiled, President Erdoğan said: “Along with Muslims, we also opened our doors to Jews and Christians. Just as we welcomed our Kurdish brothers and sisters who were persecuted in Northern Iraq during the First Gulf War, we have been the ones who have taken care of our neighbors fleeing the civil war in Syria since 2011. Let me point out another dimension of the issue; starting from the 1960s, hundreds of thousands of our people boarded trains from Istanbul's Sirkeci station and went to Germany, which they called 'bitter homeland', and then to Belgium, Switzerland and other European countries to work and to earn their livelihood. Today, we host around 3.5 million displaced people, mostly from Syria. Again today, more than 6 million of our brothers and sisters continue their lives in different countries of Europe, mostly in Germany, and make significant contributions to the economy of the countries they live in.”
“WE MUST EVALUATE MIGRATION WITH AN APPROACH CENTERING ON HUMANITARIAN VALUES”
“Some countries may approach the issue of migrants only from the perspective of self-interest. Some countries may consider it as an ethnic and cultural threat. Others may assess this issue only from the security aspect. But as Türkiye, we have to evaluate migration in a multidimensional way, especially with an approach centering on humanitarian values. We have to assess this issue, which has been the subject of countless meetings, studies and symposiums so far, with a holistic understanding and develop accurate, lasting and long-term policies accordingly,” President Erdoğan said.
Stating that constantly securitizing the issue of migration by immediately raising the topic of irregular migration is not right, President Erdoğan said: “Like every state faced with the pressure of irregular migration, Türkiye will surely continue its fight against flows of illegal migration without compromise. We will protect the security of our borders as we protect our honor. We will further consolidate our borders with additional measures.”
“WE CANNOT TOLERATE HATE SPEECH AND PROVOCATIONS AGAINST MIGRANTS”
Underscoring that they encourage the voluntary, safe and dignified return of their brothers and sisters under temporary protection to their birthplaces, President Erdoğan said: “As the environment of peace and security in Syria grows stronger, we believe that both voluntary returns will accelerate and the number of voluntary returnees will increase. However, while doing all this, we will not fall into the trap of blind enmity. We cannot categorically oppose the issue of immigration, from which everyone from Europe to America gains serious added value. Especially, we cannot tolerate hate speech, fascism, racist vandalism and provocations against asylum seekers and migrants.”
Noting that with the pandemic, the global economy and trade experienced one of the biggest shocks since the World War II, President Erdoğan said: “Immediately afterwards, the Russia-Ukraine War and price pressures led to a slow, unbalanced recovery in the global economy. Increasing protectionism in trade and unresolved conflicts in our region are deepening uncertainties and exposing the global economy to new risks. With the impact of these developments, the global economy grew by 3.3 percent in 2023, below its historical averages, while trade volume shrank by 1.1 percent.”
Pointing out that despite all the difficulties, the Turkish economy displayed a robust performance in production, employment and foreign trade, President Erdoğan said: “In 2023, we recorded a growth rate of 5.1 percent despite weak foreign demand and earthquake disasters. Our economic size increased to $1 trillion 130 billion in 2023. In parallel with this, our per capita national income increased by 24.2 percent to $13,243. See the progress? In the second quarter of 2024, we reached an annualized economic size of $1 trillion 202 billion.”
Emphasizing that the Turkish economy has maintained uninterrupted growth for 17 quarters, President Erdoğan said: “In the first half of 2024, our growth rate was 3.8 percent. In the third quarter, announced this morning, we reached an annual growth rate of 2.1 percent. We expect our national income to rise to $1 trillion 331 billion and our per capita income to $15,551 by the end of 2024.”
Pointing out that Türkiye’s growth is largely driven by the increase in net exports of goods and services, President Erdoğan said: “Our share of global goods exports, which exceeded 1 percent for the first time in 2021, rose to 1.07 percent in 2023. Similarly, our share of global service exports reached 1.35 percent in 2023. Our exports of goods broke a record as of October 2024, reaching $262.3 billion in the last 12 months. In our annualized service exports, we exceeded $112 billion as of September.”
“WE SPENT NEARLY $72 BILLION ON RECONSTRUCTION OF THE QUAKE-HIT AREAS”
President Erdoğan underlined that Türkiye has accomplished all of the above despite the earthquakes on February 6, 2023, the disaster of the century.
“The total amount of the expenditures we have made for the reconstruction of the quake-hit areas has approached $72 billion. We have supported our earthquake victims in many areas from debris removal to the start of new housing constructions, from infrastructure projects to landscaping, from support packages to various assistances. Tomorrow, I will be in Kahramanmaraş. In other words, while healing the wounds of the gravest natural disaster of the last century, we ensured that the wheels of the economy continued to turn,” President Erdoğan said.
