President and AK Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is making a statement with AK Party Deputies at the Legislative Year Opening Meeting at the AK Party Congress Center. Here are the highlights from Erdoğan's speech:
"My dear nation, my esteemed fellow MPs, our esteemed mayors, dear young people who are the assurance of our future, esteemed ladies and gentlemen, I greet you with my most heartfelt feelings, respect and affection. Through you, I send my respects and love to my citizens all over our heavenly homeland, and I longingly embrace all my brothers and sisters who have turned abroad into a home. Opening of the 28th Term 5th Legislative Year of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye I pray to God that this widely attended meeting we held at our Headquarters will be beneficial for our country, our nation, our party and our democracy.
"İZMİR IS DIFFERENT TODAY, VERY EXCITEMENT"
Izmir is different today, very enthusiastic. I would like to thank all my brothers and sisters who attended our meeting for sharing the excitement of the new legislative year with us and welcome them. I wish the new legislative year, which started on Thursday, to be auspicious, and I wish great success to the AK Party group and our People's Alliance partners in this new legislative year. Likewise, I extend my wishes of success to our parliament and all MPs without any discrimination against political parties.
Today, I would like to remind again an issue that I underlined in my address to the General Assembly of the Parliament. Our Gazi Assembly entered the recess by displaying an unprecedented example of consensus in our political history. We attach great importance to keeping the spirit of compromise represented by the 467 votes in favor of the framework law alive in the new legislative year. We need, more than anything else, the creation of a social basis that will bridge the distances between different segments of society in our country. We hope that our offer of competition within consensus will be met and Turkish politics will show that a new style of politics is possible in the new legislative year.
I say it all the time. For a functioning democracy, what the opposition does and how it behaves is as important as the government and its actions. These should be the eyes of the other side, the opposition should support our efforts with its constructive attitude, contribute, and show the virtue of meeting on a common ground in line with common goals by putting their battle axes to the side when necessary. As the AK Party and the People's Alliance, we have never shied away from compromise, dialogue and seeking consensus on any issue that would be for the good of the nation, especially our Terror-Free Türkiye process. We won't avoid it from now on either.
"I WANT TO SEE A MORE RESPONSIBLE STYLE FROM THE OPPOSITION IN THE NEW LEGISLATIVE YEAR"
In this respect, I find the call of Mr. Devlet Bahçeli, Chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party, our People's Alliance partner, to political parties for "competition in service, unity in independence, effort in the future", together with his statements honoring us, to be extremely meaningful. I would also like to thank him for his statements about us. Despite the ugly and lack of courtesy attitude at the opening of the parliament, I want to see a more responsible tone from the opposition in the new legislative year. At least I keep my hope on this issue. With this understanding, we will keep the doors of dialogue wide open, use a constructive language in commissions and General Assembly activities, and will not abandon common sense, common sense and the culture of compromise. However, if we do not receive a response to this well-intentioned approach, our complaint will be our nation, with its great foresight and foresight, as always.
My dear companions and cause friends, since our last meeting, we, as AK cadres, have been making an intense effort to fulfill our duty towards our nation. You, under the roof of the Supreme Assembly, we in the Presidency, our mayors in their provinces and districts, are working hard to open Türkiye's path and horizons with a spirit of full dedication. We tried to make the most productive use of the holiday period, which started on August 10 and ended on October 1. We traveled from city to city, district to district, street to street with all our staff, from our ministers to our deputy chairmen, from our deputies to our board members, to our provincial, district and neighborhood organizations. We said no stopping, keep going. At the Türkiye Meetings, we listened to the voices of people from all walks of life, noted their criticisms, and received their advice on how to serve them better.
As AK staff, we are happy and proud to serve our nation with love, passion and sincerity. Young people, what does the late Namık Kemal say? "Those who consider themselves human will not tire of serving the public, and will not refrain from betraying the oppressed who are in development." In other words, those who know themselves and know people never get tired of serving the public. Those who are brave never refrain from helping the oppressed. Hopefully, as long as my Lord gives us life, we will not give up serving the nation and the country without getting tired, by adding night to day.
I congratulate all the deputies in our group, that is, you, individually, for the services you provide to Türkiye, both under the roof of the Parliament and in your provinces and districts, day and night. On this occasion, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my colleague Bekir Bozdağ, who has been serving as the Deputy Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly with great sacrifice for about three and a half years, despite his health problems. I wish success to our Tokat MP Yusuf Beyazıt, who will take over the duty of deputy chairman. The Turkish Grand National Assembly has a busy work schedule ahead of it in the new legislative year. By working in consultation and cooperation with our People's Alliance partner, we will hopefully benefit from the next 10 months in the most efficient way.
"OUR 9-MONTH EXPORTS REACHED 211 BILLION DOLLARS WITH AN INCREASE OF 5.2 PERCENT"
Dear brothers and sisters, before moving on to my evaluations on the agenda, I find it useful to share some current data on the economy with you here. Foreign trade figures for September were announced by the Turkish Exporters Assembly on October 3. In September, our exports increased by 15.4 percent compared to the same month of the previous year and amounted to 26 billion dollars. Our nine-month exports increased by 5.2 percent, reaching 211 billion dollars, and our 12-month exports reached 283.7 billion dollars. The total annual exports of goods and services approached 410 billion dollars. Despite the conflicts around us and the stagnation in the global economy, we once again broke an all-time record with these figures. We are fortunate to have brought our exports, which we took over in 2002 with 36 billion dollars, to 284 billion dollars. Unless there is a major setback, hopefully we will achieve our goals for 2026. I wish our export figures to be beneficial, and I wholeheartedly congratulate everyone who contributed to this success.
The labor force data announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute also increased our hopes. Accordingly, the number of unemployed people in the 15 and over age group decreased by 106 thousand in August compared to the previous month, reaching 2 million 740 thousand people. The unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 points to 7.8 percent. The unemployment rate among the young population in the 15-24 age group decreased by 1.1 points compared to the previous month and reached 13 percent. In August, our employment number increased by 136 thousand people and reached 32 million 507 thousand people. We attach importance to the recovery in August following July. We have full will to protect our nation's work and vaccination. We are determined not to compromise on this at any cost.
"THE ANNUAL EFFECT OF THE WAR ON INFLATION IS IN THE 7 POINT BAND"
Finally, inflation data for September was announced on Monday. First of all, I have to bring one thing to your attention. Unfortunately, inflation is one of the areas where we feel the negative impact of rising oil prices due to conflicts in our region. According to the calculations of our Central Bank, the annual impact of the war on inflation is in the range of 7 points. It is a fact that instability and rising fuel prices challenge the whole world in terms of macroeconomic indicators. In light of these parameters, consumer prices increased by 1.84 percent and producer prices increased by 2.07 percent on a monthly basis in September. Annual inflation decreased to 29.73 percent. Thus, it fell below 30 percent for the first time in the last 5 years. Services inflation has fallen to its lowest level since March 2020, and rent inflation has fallen to its lowest level since October 2022.
"WE ARE NOT WHERE WE TARGET OR DESIRE IN INFLATION"
We are pleased that the fire in rent, education and food price inflation, which is especially challenging for our nation, has started to decrease. Of course, we are not where we targeted or desired in terms of inflation. We still have a serious distance to cover. Hopefully, we will take this path and achieve our goals without compromising our astute and disciplined stance.
"WE ARE TAKING STEPS TO MAKE THE FINANCE MARKET EMERGING EVEN STRONGER IN THE FUND INVESTIGATION"
My dear nation, my dear companions. While we closely follow the processes related to the real economy, we also address the problems that arise in certain parts of the fund market. We are taking the necessary steps, step by step, with great determination. Now, first of all, this issue has a legal aspect. The judiciary is already doing what needs to be done regarding the legal aspect of the issue within the framework of our Constitution, laws and capital market legislation, in coordination with our other institutions. Everyone should know that those who infringe on the rights of the nation, those who gain unfair advantage, those who are greedy and dishonest will be held accountable both to the Turkish courts in this world and to the Creator in the Great Court. There is undoubtedly an economic aspect to this issue. All our relevant units, especially our economic management, are following the issue very carefully, taking precautions, and taking the necessary steps to ensure that the financial markets come out of this crisis stronger and healthier.
"WE ARE OPERATING THE NECESSARY ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL PROCESSES TO ENSURE THAT OUR CITIZENS' SAVINGS ARE PAID ASAP"
We are also following the investor aspect of the issue meticulously. We carry out the necessary administrative and legal processes to ensure that our citizens' savings are paid as soon as possible without burdening the public. The first agenda of our Fund Coordination Board, established under the chairmanship of our Vice President, is to ensure that this issue is resolved. Our Board will work intensively and quickly overcome this problem that casts an unfair shadow on our capital markets. This is our instruction to them. Our State Supervisory Board is also examining this issue in all its dimensions. We will not tolerate even the slightest negligence, illegality or irregularity there either.
"TURKISH CAPITAL MARKETS WILL BE RID OF ITS GALLERY AND WILL BE PURIFIED FROM GREEDY PARASITES"
I want to express this here with all my sincerity. Although some people are looking forward to the Turkish economy going into crisis due to this issue, God willing, the opposite will happen. At the end of this process, Turkish capital markets will be freed from their galls and will be cleansed of greedy parasites that feed on the savings of small investors. Hopefully, our financial market, which has gained a much stronger and healthier structure, will continue on its way by getting stronger. Disaster merchants who try to wear out the Turkish economy will lose. Our country and our nation will gain many times more. Investment and capital inflow to Türkiye will accelerate further. We do not have the slightest doubt about this. Our nation should not have any doubts.
"THE ONLY PORT OF POLITICS IS MORALITY"
My dear fellow travelers, of course, this issue also has an administrative and political dimension. The independent judiciary does its own job. The process is progressing there. The actors of the economy are taking the necessary steps in their own areas of responsibility. Conscience, ethics and belief dimensions are already related to the person himself. But on the administrative and political side of the issue, the burden is on our shoulders. I just said it. We assigned our institutions and boards to handle the administrative aspect of the problem. They are also following the issue with full sensitivity. Now let's come to the political aspect of the issue. Look, my dear brothers and sisters, the political aspect of the issue is never separate from conscience, morality and faith for us. When we were establishing this party and setting out, we made a very basic principle, a principle that is the basis of our movement, our most important motto. What is it? We said that the only harbor of politics is morality. And we did not see faith as an abstract concept belonging only to individuals. We placed it at the very center of our party and movement, at the very foundation of our understanding of politics. This movement is a movement based on morality. Our policy is a policy built on faith, ethics and trust. What did they say to us when we established the first AK Party government exactly 24 years ago? "Power corrupts," they said. "These too will be solved," they said. For 24 years, we did not allow corruption, disintegration and decay to come closer to our party. Young people, we have neither compromised on confronting our conscience, nor given up self-reflection, nor stretched our moral values, nor allowed our faith to be shaken. We faced many tests. We were subjected to many tests, but thank God, we managed to eliminate every evil microbe that tried to infiltrate the world with our steel-like morality, our fortress-like conscience, and our unshakable faith.
"NO ONE SHOULD BE DISAPPOINTED"
No one should despair. No one should be discouraged. May our beloved nation and our blessed organization never lose hope. Especially, your trust in us should never be shaken. No one should be under the influence of black propaganda. Black propaganda can affect neither our morality, nor our faith, nor our conscience. Nobody should worry about this. We do not owe anything to anyone other than this beloved nation. Masallah! We owe our life to God Almighty. With God's permission, we do not owe any debt to any mortal, nor to God first. Rumors, rumors, allegations, slander, accusations, all kinds of scenarios. Nobody should worry. Tayyip Erdoğan and his colleagues will do whatever is necessary, and rest assured, they will. I say it again. The only harbor of our politics is morality. This party has never set sail from that port. It will never anchor.
"WE NEITHER LEARN A LESSON FROM A GROUP THAT PROTECTS THOSE WHO RECEIVE BRIBE FROM BAKLAVA BOXES, NOR DO WE CONTACT THEM"
By the way, I have to say this here. Dear brothers and sisters, we are looking now. Let alone speaking from the podium, people who would not appear in public are brazenly pontificating. Those who until yesterday supported thieves, shameless people, and thieves who plundered the nation's property are trying to give us a lesson in political morality. Those who institutionalized robbery through money towers for the first time in Türkiye are attacking us instead of responding honestly to confessions of bribes worth millions of euros. They criticize millions of people who have devoted themselves to the AK Party. They will learn this sooner or later. We neither learn from nor engage with a group that supports those who take bribes in baklava boxes and those who build towers with illicit money. There is no bread for anyone here, especially political pickpockets. They rub their hands in vain. They are getting excited in vain.
