AK Party Deputy Chairman and Head of Relations with Turkish States Kürşad Zorlu said, "We are starting to work on transitioning our football players who come to Türkiye from our heartland, from the Turkish world, to Turkish status, rather than foreigners." he said.
The opening program of the "Turkish World Youth Meeting", organized under the theme of "Common Heritage, One Heart" and hosted by Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, under the coordination of the AK Party Directorate of Relations with Turkish States, was held.
Speaking at the program held at Kocaeli Congress Center, Kürşad Zorlu said that he was interested in the Turkish world during his university student years.
Stating that he dreamed of such a meeting program at that time, Zorlu said, "Thank God, we were able to realize this in our country today. I would like to express my endless gratitude to our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who prepared the ground for this meaningful meeting and created this opportunity." he said.
Emphasizing that Kocaeli is very valuable to them and that very important concrete results of service municipality are seen in the city, Zorlu emphasized that it is a municipality that touches the public, mobilizes opportunities for the needs of the people and is integrated with its people.
Zorlu thanked Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tahir Büyükakın for these works and hosting the program.
Kürşad Zorlu emphasized that there will be interviews and panels in the program for two days, and young people will share with each other.
"We will mobilize the power we get from history and increase our solidarity"
Mentioning that there are very important developments in the world, Zorlu continued his words as follows:
"A great wind of change is facing us in technology and we are trying to adapt to it. On the one hand, economic corridors, trade, logistics and energy lines are being rebuilt. While we are experiencing cohesion and beauty in the field we call cultural diplomacy, on the other hand, we are also faced with global developments that shake the scales of justice and conscience. In such a period, an important choice awaits us. Either we will mobilize our unity, integrity and the power we get from history and increase our solidarity. Or we will all go back step by step in the face of this irregularity of the global order." We will go into great trouble.
As Turkey, we act with the ideal of realizing this option under the leadership of our President. "I believe that this stance that we have put forward all over the world with the theme and emphasis of 'The world is bigger than 5' will be carried into the future together with the strength we derive from our history in the wide area of the Turkish states and the Turkish world."
Reminding that the Organization of Turkish States (TDT) was established with the Nakhchivan Agreement in 2009, Zorlu stated that today 8 states are under this roof and cooperate on more than 30 topics.
"We will discover our young talents in a place where we have a population of more than 200 million"
Underlining that the most important center of these topics is the relations between young people and the aim of carrying them into the future, Zorlu said:
"Because we see our youth as one of the carrier columns not only of today but also of tomorrow. Of course, when it comes to youth, sports is a very important means of bringing together for us. Today, I would like to share good news with you in this meaningful meeting. We also consulted this with our President of the Turkish Football Federation. Hopefully, we are starting to work on transferring our football players who come to Türkiye from our geography of heart, from the Turkish world, to Turkish status, rather than foreigners.
The second good news is that, hopefully, our Turkish Football Federation will organize a joint football tournament of all Turkish states every two years under the name of 'Turkish Cup', and we are starting these studies together with our Ministry of Youth and Sports. This is not just a change of status. If we conclude, we will discover our young talents in our wide geography of heart, where we have a population of more than 200 million. By training them from the infrastructure in our own countries, we will hopefully increase the success of our national teams in the European Cup, World Cup and all these international arenas."
Kürşad Zorlu emphasized that with President Erdoğan's visionary leadership, they not only set goals but also implemented them with concrete steps.
Reminding that the 13th TDT Heads of State and Government Summit will be held on 29-30 October, hosted by Ankara, Zorlu said, "We are preparing for very important decisions and agreements hosted by our President. And the gathering of you, the young people of the Turkish world, in Kocaeli just before such a meeting was a very important message." he said.
On the other hand, Zorlu stated that a final declaration will be published after the completion of the program, adding that they want to make the event periodic and in this context, they decided to hold next year's meeting in Kayseri, which was chosen as the Cultural Capital of the Turkish World.
"The power of a civilization is in its memory, and the future of a nation is in its youth."
Chairman of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Security and Intelligence Commission and AK Party Kocaeli Deputy Veysal Tipioğlu stated that ensuring the unity and solidarity of the Turkish states will strengthen the power of the states.
Tipioğlu said, "There may be borders between our countries, there may be distances between our cities, but there is neither border nor distance in our hearts towards you. Our faith commands us to be brothers, to share, to show solidarity. It is in the hands of all of us and the responsibility of all of us to strengthen this bond of heart." he said.
Sultan Raev, Secretary General of the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), also emphasized that Turks have a great civilization.
Raev said to the young people, "Keep your roots in the past and your eyes on the future. Achieve new successes in science, art and technology. Our ancestors brought civilizations together on the Silk Road. You too, build new bridges of friendship in the digital world today." he advised.
Emphasizing that the greatest strength of the Turkish world is the unity of its youth, Raev said, "The strength of a tree is in its roots, the strength of a civilization is in its memory, the future of a nation is in its youth." he said.
Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tahir Büyükakın stated that they will mobilize to make the next century the Turkish century and said, "We are aware that we have set out to start every step that will prepare for it and to make the preparations." he said.
After the protocol speeches, Music Bolalar from Uzbekistan and Alatau Serileri group from Kazakhstan took the stage.
In the program, Gülzada Ryskulova from Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijani artist Azerin and musician Kıraç gave a concert.
