The Diplomacy Workshop organized by the AK Party Istanbul Provincial Youth Branch hosted the President of the World Ethnosport Union, Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan. AK Party Youth Branch Chairman Yusuf İbiş and AK Party Istanbul Youth Branch Chairman Nevzat Yüce also attended the program. In the program held at the AK Party Istanbul Provincial Directorate, Erdoğan met with young people under the title "Cultural Diplomacy and Common Future in the Turkish World". The vision of the Turkish Century, the Turkish world, Islamic geography, cultural diplomacy and Türkiye's regional role were discussed in the program.
'Türkiye'S CENTURY IS A BIGGER ISSUE THAN ECONOMIC STRENGTHENING'
In his speech, Erdoğan stated that the Turkish Century target should not be seen only as a matter of economic development and welfare, and drew attention to the wars and injustices taking place in the world. Erdoğan said, "Why should we take a goal like the Turkey Century seriously? We will be rich, we will be powerful, what will happen? This is a bigger issue than Türkiye being economically stronger and more prosperous. It is not in our DNA to stand by while so much instability, Israel's genocide, wars and injustices are happening in the world." he said. Emphasizing that Türkiye has to be strong, Erdoğan said, "Because if we are not strong, we will be crushed. If we are not strong, we will be manipulated. We experienced this throughout the 20th century." he said.
'WE NEED TO INCREASE THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT OF OUR POWER'
Stating that Türkiye should not only grow stronger on its own, but also increase its cooperation with geographies with which it has historical and cultural ties, Erdoğan said that this process should start from the Turkish world. Erdoğan said, "What we need to start with is the Turkish world first, then our geography of heart. We need to become stronger together with the Islamic world and increase the multiplier effect of our power." he said. Stating that the common language and cultural ties in the Turkish world offer an important opportunity, Erdoğan said, "The issue is to ensure that everyone in the Turkish world realizes that they can actually understand each other, rather than everyone speaking the same language." made his assessment.
'WE CAN LEAD THE ISLAMIC WORLD TO BE STRONG TOGETHER'
Stating that the Turkish Century vision can turn into cooperation in a wider geography, starting from the Turkish world, Erdoğan said that Türkiye is in a position to lead the rapprochement between Islamic countries. Giving examples from Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt, Erdoğan drew attention to the potential that these countries can create through economic strengthening and increased cooperation between them. Erdoğan said, "When these four countries, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, reach the level of economic development, their economic size becomes 5 trillion dollars. I say this so that you can see the opportunities that suddenly appear before us. Egypt becomes stronger, Turkey becomes stronger, and Pakistan becomes much stronger. We have to ensure this. These are not dreams." he said. Pointing out that the Western world is able to establish partnerships despite the religious and cultural differences within itself, Erdogan continued as follows: Cooperating with an Orthodox, a Catholic, or an Evangelical within the European Union is much more difficult than what I mentioned. The religious, cultural and linguistic ties that bind us together and bring us closer are currently much stronger than those that bind the European Union and the West together.
Erdoğan said, "If we move forward with this vision, we can lead the Islamic world to become stronger together. I believe that the way we can lead this is through the rapprochement and unity of the Turkish world. This is not far at all."
'WE SHOULD STRENGTHEN OUR CULTURAL TIES'
Stating that Türkiye's cultural influence is increasingly felt in different geographies, Erdoğan stated that the interest in Turkish TV series is one of the indicators of Türkiye's soft power. Referring to the historical role of Turks in Islamic civilization, Erdoğan said that it is important to preserve the common ties of history and belief between Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Bosnians, Albanians and Circassians. Erdoğan stated that highlighting these common values will contribute to both the rapprochement in the Turkish world and the strengthening of cooperation between Islamic countries.
