*Wants architecture of global security system redesigned
The architecture of the world security system must be developed anew, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Astana, the Kazakhstan capital, on Thursday.
“We believe that the global security architecture should be redesigned based on a new understanding that is more fair and equitable,” Erdogan said at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) also attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and others of the 27-country association.
The world is more than five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the Turkish President added.
Addressing the Sixth CICA Summit in Astana, President Erdogan said: “We believe that the global security architecture should be reshaped with a new understanding that is more just, equitable and inclusive.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a speech at the Sixth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), held in Kazakhstan’s capital city of Astana.
Noting that the Summit also marks the 30th foundation anniversary of the CICA, President Erdogan expressed his wish for the Summit as well as for the talks to be held on its sidelines to lead to favorable developments for the participating countries and the entire humanity.
“THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THE ASIA ANEW INITIATIVE IS TO DEEPEN OUR COOPERATION WITH THE COUNTRIES OF THE CONTINENT”
“The primary goal of the Asia Anew initiative, which Türkiye announced in 2019, is to deepen our cooperation with the countries of the continent at bilateral and regional platforms,” the President said, adding that Türkiye, as one of the founding states of the CICA, has extended strong support to the expansion of the Conference and the consolidation of its institutional capacity since the very beginning.
Recalling that Türkiye acted with the same approach during its term presidency between 2010-2014 as well, President Erdoğan stated: “Today’s Astana Summit will go down in history as an occasion when the Conference’s transformation process into an international organization has started.”
“STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS OF THE CURRENT SYSTEM BECOME MORE AND MORE VISIBLE”
Stressing that the humanity is going through a period when balances of power change, supply chains are disrupted and serious challenges emerge in many areas from economy and food security to energy and international relations, President Erdoğan said: “New problems such as climate change, Islamophobia and xenophobia are added to the ones we are already familiar with such as terrorism, racism and migration. The structural problems of the current system, which observes the interests of a handful of countries while disregarding the majority of the world population, become more and more visible. As Türkiye, we have been drawing attention to this issue for a long time by saying that ‘the World is bigger than five.’ We believe that the global security architecture should be reshaped with a new understanding that is more just, equitable and inclusive. Wherever we are in the world, we all share the same destiny as the individuals of a great family of humanity. Our experiences of the pandemic have reminded us of this reality. Since we have common problems, a common wisdom should be adopted to find solutions.”
President Erdoğan added that Türkiye highly values its friends’ opinions and attaches special importance to sharing its knowledge and experiences.
“Terrorist organizations, however, continue their efforts to develop their asymmetrical threat elements in the face of counterterrorism measures. Terrorist organizations such as FETO, DAESH and PKK reinforce their terrorist activities with organized crime. Groups that aid these terrorist organizations and get involved in their propaganda, financing and recruitment activities should be stopped without any distinction. In this regard, I see the Conference’s Action Plan on the Implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which we will adopt today, as a critical achievement.”
“WE HOST OVER 4 MILLION DISPLACED PERSONS”
Underlining that ensuring peace and stability in Afghanistan is not only a humanitarian duty towards the Afghans but is also of great importance in terms of preventing irregular migration and stopping the increase in terrorist activities, President Erdoğan said: “We shouldn’t abandon Afghanistan and should continue our humanitarian support as the international community.”
Pointing out that Türkiye, which prioritizes humanitarian aid in its foreign policy, extended help to 122 countries in 2021, President Erdoğan stated: “With our $5.6 billion worth of humanitarian aid, we are the top donor of humanitarian aid in the world in ratio to national income. We continue to host over 4 million displaced persons, including 3.7 Syrians under temporary protection.”
“OUR HUGE EFFORTS WITH THE UN AND THE PARTIES TO ELIMINATE THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF THE WAR ARE APPRECIATED BY THE ENTIRE WORLD”
Pointing out that the regional and global effects of the crisis in Ukraine are closely felt by all, President Erdoğan said: “I keep saying that a just peace can be achieved through diplomacy and that a war has no winners and a just peace no losers. Our huge efforts with the UN and the parties to eliminate the negative effects of the war are appreciated by the entire world. The Istanbul Agreement for the export of the Ukraine grain through the Black Sea, and the exchange of war prisoners carried out last month, are each a concrete success achieved in this direction. Our goal is to bring an immediate end to the bloodshed by keeping the momentum going despite the difficulties on the ground.”
“WE SUPPORT THE REVIVAL OF THE MODERN SILK ROAD THAT CONNECTS ASIA AND EUROPE”
Describing the development of transport linkages with the surrounding areas as a common benefit, President Erdoğan said: “As Türkiye, we encourage multimode transportation corridors, and support the revival of the modern Silk Road that connects Asia and Europe. In this context, I attach great importance to the Trans-Caspian East-West-Middle Corridor and to the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway, which is the backbone of the Middle Corridor. We have introduced more than a hundred massive infrastructure projects worth $100 billion over the past 15 years. This year, we have also become a co-coordinator in the priority area ‘Trade and Investment’ at the CICA.”
Noting that sustainable energy and energy security have become one of the top issues on the global agenda once again, President Erdoğan described the diversification of resources and routes as one of the primary targets in energy politics.
“THE DECLARATION OF GOODWILL ON THE GLOBAL MANAGEMENT OF WASTE CONSTITUTES A ROADMAP”
Stressing that transitioning to green energy makes up an important aspect of the diversification of energy resources, President Erdoğan said: “Environmental problems such as global warming, extinction of global diversity, desertification and natural disasters stand out as the gravest challenges of the century. Therefore, I consider the environment aspect of the Confidence Building Measures Catalogue as one of the top spheres of activity of the Conference. The Declaration of Goodwill, my wife Emine Erdoğan and UN Secretary-General António Guterres signed last September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, constitutes so-to-speak a roadmap for the international community.”
Reiterating his pleasure since today’s Conference Summit will mark the start of the CICA’s transformation into an international organization, President Erdoğan said: “I congratulate Kazakhstan, the term president, on its guiding and determined stance in this transformation process. I have no doubts whatsoever that all the member states will provide utmost support to the transformation process.”
