Statement from Minister Çiftçi regarding the security measures taken within the scope of COP31: 58 thousand personnel are working in Antalya center and belt cities.

Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Çiftçi made a statement to the press regarding the security measures taken within the scope of the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) hosted by Türkiye in Antalya.

Stating that, as the Ministry, they have taken all the necessary precautions and made plans to ensure the security of the summit, Çiftçi said, "By keeping Antalya as the center, we have determined the provinces around Antalya as the first generation, the provinces surrounding them as the second generation, and our borders and port provinces as the third generation provinces. A total of 58 thousand personnel are working in Antalya's center and belt provinces." he said.

Mustafa Çiftçi reminded that Türkiye hosted the NATO Summit on July 7-8 and that, as the Ministry, they took all the necessary security measures from start to finish to ensure that the program went smoothly, and emphasized that the Summit was completed without any problems.

Stating that they took similar measures in Antalya in this context, Çiftçi continued his words as follows:

"Here, our General Directorate of Security, Gendarmerie General Command, Coast Guard Command and AFAD Presidency have taken the necessary precautions and made all the plans. For example, our General Directorate of Security and Gendarmerie General Command are currently serving with 26 thousand personnel on land. Our Coast Guard Command is taking the necessary precautions from sea and air. Our AFAD Presidency will be on duty in Antalya from the beginning of the process with 1,000 personnel. From all kinds of search and rescue, fire, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) "They made their plans and took precautions by calculating and reviewing all the risks, including precautions. Hopefully, our country will host the COP31 summit successfully. We will complete the Summit in this way, worthy of the glory of our country."

"WE CONSIDER CLIMATE CHANGE AS A SECURITY PROBLEM"

Minister Çiftçi pointed out that climate change is considered an environmental problem, but it can also cause security problems, and stated that they have taken measures accordingly.

Recalling the rainfall in Ayazağa, Istanbul, Çiftçi said, "When the amount of rain that would fall in a month or a year falls in one day, excessive rainfall can cause floods, sometimes landslides, and this can turn into a security problem. For example, we know that this triggers migration in years when drought increases. Although all of these are seen as environmental problems, they can turn into problems that threaten public order in the later stages. Therefore, we consider climate change as a security problem, vulnerability, and even a risk multiplier." And that's how we make plans." he said.