Minister Bolat, who came to Van, attended the meeting held at the Van Chamber of Commerce and Industry where the foreign trade data for March 2026 was announced. Bolat then attended the 108th anniversary ceremony of Van’s liberation from enemy occupation, and then went to Kapıköy Customs Gate, Türkiye’s gateway to Asia. Minister Bolat, who made a statement after the inspections he carried out here, stated that they received a briefing on the work carried out from the Regional Foreign Trade and Customs Directorate.

“WE GAVE THE NECESSARY INSTRUCTIONS TO OUR FRIENDS”

Stating that the works are continuing on track, Minister Bolat said, “There is no disruption in tourist entry and exit, whether in freight transportation, railway, passenger and freight transportation, or by road. We have also given the necessary instructions to our friends. Van Kapıköy is one of the gates that we modernized and renewed. As you know, nearly 20 of our customs gates have been modernized and renewed in a way that can be set as an example in the world in the last 23 years. It has also cooperated with the private sector. Van Kapıköy is one of them. Of course, “The new facility work you see here continues. In this sense, it continues to serve as an important transition point between Türkiye and our neighbor Iran,” he said.

Minister Bolat stated that from now on, with the realization of the peace and ceasefire process, Kapıköy Customs Gate will work more intensively in terms of commercial cargo transportation and passenger entry and exit, and said, “Normal routine entry and exit operations continue at our other two customs gates, Ağrı Gürbulak and Hakkari Esendere gates. We have given our new instructions in the light of the information we received from our friends.”

Head of Communications Burhanettin Duran made the following statements in his post on his social media account:

“I condemn the attack with stones and explosives carried out by a group supporting the EOKA terrorist organization against civilians in the Yiğitler Burcu region of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

This provocative action targeting civilians disregards not only the peace in the region, but also international law and human values.

It is essential for the peace of the Island that the perpetrators are identified and brought to justice as soon as possible and concrete steps are taken to prevent similar incidents from occurring again. We will follow the process closely in all its aspects.

“As Türkiye, we have full support for the protection of the security, peace and rights of the TRNC under the leadership of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.”

I condemn the attack with stones and explosives carried out by a group supporting the EOKA terrorist organization against civilians in the Yiğitler Burcu region of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. This provocative action targeting civilians not only disturbs the peace in the region, but also…

— Burhanettin Duran (@burhanduran) April 2, 2026

President Erdoğan spoke at the Mass Opening Ceremony of 563 Facilities completed by DSI, held at Beştepe Nation Congress and Culture Center. Stating that the fight for oil in the past will be fought for water in the future, President Erdogan said, “Usable water resources are rapidly decreasing. 2.2 billion people in the world cannot access healthy drinking water.” he said.

“I would like to express this, this land, whose dough is kneaded with the blessed blood of our martyrs and veterans, flowing with the springs of knowledge and wisdom of our scholars, wise men, men of heart, is a water civilization in every aspect. This is the land of the saints who established their dervish lodges on the shores of the water a thousand years ago and sowed the seeds of goodness in hearts and minds, turning the Land of Rum into a garden of civilization step by step. Water is the symbol of cleanliness, purity, beauty and abundance in the soul roots of this nation, which prays ‘Be holy like water’.

When asked “Which alms would you like to give more?”, the Prophet answered “Water” and stated that providing water to those who have difficulty accessing water means donating life to them, and gave the good news that presenting beautiful and sweet water to people will be rewarded by Allah. We are members of such a water civilization that our ancestors shortened the concept of ‘Fi sebilillah’, which means not seeking any benefit other than the consent of Allah, and named their fountains ‘sebil’. These water fountains, where even the birds are not forgotten, are the works in which our high spirits, compassion and mercy are embodied in flesh and bones.”

“THE MOST STRATEGIC AND MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE OF THIS CENTURY IS WATER”

Poet and writer Necip Fazıl Kısakürek describes the meaning and nature of water as “Water is prayer, supplication, mirror, clarity, purity; spend it like gold in the metallic sky.” Stating that he put it into verses with the words, Erdoğan said, “Our ancestors, who saw water foundations and water dispensers as a form of charity, even treated their patients with the sound of water. Our ancestors literally built an umran from scratch with their fountains, hayrats, fountains and waterways.” he said.

Stating that water clocks, spirit levels and aqueducts are masterpieces of art and engineering, President Erdoğan said:

“Water, which has a very important place in our civilization, culture, art and architecture, and even in our engineering activities, has gone far beyond being a basic resource we need to sustain our lives. The most strategic and valuable resource of a century in which power competition is increasingly intensifying in every field is water, which is also the main element of production and energy. The struggle for oil and carbon fuels in the last century will be fought in the field of water in the coming period. When we look at the hot conflicts around us, we can already see the signs of this. Climate change, Problems caused by factors such as drought, population growth, excessive urbanization and industrialization increase the pressure on water resources.

In particular, these figures reveal more clearly the magnitude of the danger we face; See, only 2.5 percent of the total water of 1.4 billion cubic kilometers around the world consists of fresh water. Although the world population, which was 3 billion in 1960, has exceeded 8 billion today, when we look at the amount of precipitation falling on the earth in the same period, there has been no change. While the need for clean water resources increases, unfortunately, usable water resources are rapidly decreasing due to rapid consumption and pollution. Today, 2.2 billion people in the world do not have access to healthy drinking water. More importantly, according to the World Water Development Report, it is predicted that approximately 6 billion people will not have access to sufficient clean water in 2050. In addition to these, the climate crisis threatens our water, our source of life, the most. “Since we are located in the Mediterranean zone, we are one of the countries that face these threats most harshly.”

President Erdoğan: There will be water conflicts in the coming periods | Video

“WE ARE MAKING PREPARATIONS AGAINST FIRES AS QUICKLY”

In his speech at the “Mass Opening Ceremony of 563 Facilities Completed by DSI” held at Beştepe Nation Congress and Culture Center, Erdoğan stated that they have had to struggle with many problems from forest fires to floods in recent years due to climate change.

President Erdoğan said that they responded to 2 thousand 334 forest fires last year alone, and 81 thousand hectares of forest area were affected by these fires.

Emphasizing that they made preparations against fires as quickly as possible, Erdoğan said, “This year, by adding 14 new helicopters to our air fleet, we increased the number of helicopters to 119 and our water dropping capacity from the air to 462 tons. We will fight fires much more effectively this year with our 28 planes, 14 unmanned aerial vehicles, 2 thousand 766 first response vehicles, 1953 water trucks and 878 work machines.” he said.

Ekrem İmamoğlu claimed that although there were thousands of experts in Istanbul, the same experts were assigned to his own files and in the investigations of some CHP municipalities. İmamoğlu’s claims turned out to be unfounded. Within the scope of the investigation carried out by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against the Ekrem İmamoğlu Self-motivated Criminal Organization, it was revealed that a total of 46 different experts were involved in order not to violate people’s rights to be tried within a reasonable time, taking into account the nature of the file, the presence of many different allegations within the file, and the diversity of the subject. It was learned that the appointments were made from a wide pool of experts in accordance with their areas of expertise according to the file subjects.

EXPERT PEOPLE WERE ASSIGNED ACCORDING TO THE FILE

According to the information obtained, expert appointments within the scope of the investigation were made according to the file topics. In individual files, Retired Court of Accounts Auditor İ. While S. and Retired Ministry of Internal Affairs Chief Controller GS were preparing a report, these files were later combined with the main investigation file. Assignments in subsidiaries affiliated with Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality were made as follows: Boğaziçi Yönetimi ve Tesis A.Ş. and RU, CO and KT in İSTON, OA, HC and AK in İETT, NK, AY and OG in İSFALT, MK, SE, BA, V. Ş. in Ağaç A.Ş. and H.C. was assigned. In other subsidiaries and general directorates of IMM, HK, MM, Ö. U. and FT, MK, ZB, RA, YA, M. Ö., SKT, EC and MA at İSKİ, İ. Ç., Ö. C., DA Ö., BB, V. Ş., CK, Ö. D., CD, HGS and BSA, İSBAK, İ. K., MA, MKM and AB, and ENB, İ. in the IMM Public Relations Department. HY, AG and Y. Ö. was assigned. This distribution revealed that expert appointments do not depend on a single person, on the contrary, they are carried out through a wide pool of different experts depending on their subject.

From Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, news about the raise came to the people of Izmir, like an April 1 joke. The people of Izmir woke up to a rain of price hikes on the morning of Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Many services, from urban public transportation to ferry services, from bread to minibuses, from taxis to İZBAN, came into force on the first day of April in line with the decisions taken by the metropolitan municipal council recently. There was a 16 percent increase in urban public transportation vehicles such as buses, metro, ferries and trams. Thus, full boarding increased from 30 lira to 35 lira. The people of Izmir woke up on the morning of April 1 to the newly increased tariffs that the Metropolitan Municipality had put into effect. The increases in public transportation fees in Izmir came into force as of April 1, 2026. In line with the decision taken by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Council at the beginning of March, ESHOT, tram, metro, ferry İZBAN and ferry will have an increase. According to the new tariff valid throughout the city as of April 1, the full ticket price on ESHOT, tram, metro and ferry increased by 16 percent from 30 TL to 35 TL. The ‘Youth Card’ fee used by students was increased from 15 TL to 17.5 TL. Teachers also got their share from the increased tariff. Teacher tariff increased to 23.50 TL.

İZBAN, which is the lifeblood of urban public transportation, established by İZBB and TCDD with a 50 percent partnership, received the lion’s share of the increases. Although the decision of the İZBAN Board of Directors was not taken, the İZBB Assembly increased the full boarding fee from 30 TL to 40 TL, the youth boarding fee from 12.50 TL to 16.50 TL, and the teacher boarding fee from 22.15 TL to 29.50 TL, with the votes of CHP council members. A 25 percent increase was applied to the per kilometer fees at İZBAN. For journeys exceeding 20 kilometers, the pricing per kilometer has increased from 1.17 TL to 1.50 TL for full rides, from 0.50 TL to 0.65 TL for junior rides, and from 0.5250 TL to 0.65 TL for teacher rides. With the increase, the total fare between Aliağa and Selçuk was determined as 214.8 TL. The vehicle toll for car ferries serving on the Bostanlı-Üçkuyular line also increased by 20 percent. Motorcycle transportation fee was increased from 75 TL to 90 TL, automobile transportation fee was increased from 200 TL to 240 TL, middle class vehicle transportation fee was increased from 400 TL to 480 TL, bus-truck transportation fee was increased from 900 TL to 1,080 TL, and TIR transportation fee was increased from 1,250 TL to 1,500 TL. It was decided to increase taxi fares by approximately 15 percent to 20 percent. Taximeter opening fee increased from 30 TL to 34.50 TL, kilometer fee increased from 43 TL to 49.50 TL, one hour fee increased from 180 TL to 207 TL, and under 2.94 kilometers increased from 150 TL to 180 TL. Student services were increased by 5 percent. There was a 15 percent increase in personnel service fees.

BREAD HAS ALSO BEEN INCREASED

The sales price of 200 grams of bread, which is 15 TL in Izmir, increased to 17.50 TL. The fact that the increased tariffs came into force as of April 1 became a matter of joke among the city residents. Many Izmir residents who called our newspaper criticized the increased tariffs in a humorous manner, saying “Mayor Tugay played an April 1 joke on the people of Izmir.”

“Investment Ecosystem Meeting” was held in Istanbul within the scope of the “Women in Innovation” program by the Women and Democracy Foundation (KADEM). Speaking at the program, where the topics of empowering women entrepreneurs, increasing their access to finance and developing sustainable collaborations came to the fore, KADEM Chairman of the Board of Trustees Sümeyye Erdoğan Bayraktar stated that strengthening women’s entrepreneurship is critical for sustainable development. Stating that the power of the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem arises from collaborations where different stakeholders can bring together their knowledge, experience and opportunities, Bayraktar said, “It is of great importance for women entrepreneurs to take a stronger place in this ecosystem, to increase their access to finance and to establish new collaborations. Our program has gone beyond a competition and become a strong ecosystem that brings together women entrepreneurs, investors and institutions. The role of women in economic life is no longer just a social policy issue, but also an important part of Türkiye’s sustainable development vision.”

THERE ARE 1.2 MILLION WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Bayraktar also shared data on women entrepreneurship and stated that there are approximately 1.2 million women entrepreneurs in Türkiye, the share of women entrepreneurs in total entrepreneurs is 18 percent, and the rate of women founders in newly established companies is approximately 20 percent. Noting that these rates are still below international averages, but the increasing trend indicates a strong transformation, Bayraktar said, “Increasing diversity on the investment side directly affects equality of opportunity. The probability of investing in women entrepreneurs is 60 percent higher in funds that have at least one woman in the investment team.” Pointing out the critical role of mentorship, strong networks and correct investment mechanisms in the entrepreneurship journey, Bayraktar hoped that this meeting would pave the way for new collaborations and investments. The meeting, where three main panels were held after the opening speeches, aimed to increase women entrepreneurs’ access to finance, strengthen their collaborations and increase their visibility in the investment ecosystem.

COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT FOR R&D AND INNOVATION

Deputy Minister of INDUSTRY and Technology Muhammed Kasım Saygı pointed out the role of women in technology and production processes and stated that the way to make the country a structure that produces high technology and competes on a global scale is through the more active participation of women in production processes.

Stating that they carry out comprehensive support programs for women to be more involved in R&D, innovation and entrepreneurship fields, Saygın said, “We have provided billions of lira of support to hundreds of thousands of women researchers and entrepreneurs to date. We do not see women’s entrepreneurship as limited to big cities only, but also consider it as one of the basic elements of the development of Anatolia.”

DIVERSITY IN THE INVESTMENT ECOSYSTEM IS INCREASING

Burak Dağlıoğlu, Head of the Presidential Investment and Finance Office, also emphasized that women’s entrepreneurship is getting stronger in Türkiye and said, “The rate of women entrepreneurs has exceeded 18 percent and this increase indicates a significant acceleration.

There has been serious activity in technology investments in recent years. Since 2020, early-stage investments have reached over $5 billion. There are 7 unicorns in Türkiye today, and 3 of them have female founders. The presence of women in the investment ecosystem is increasing not only as entrepreneurs but also as fund managers. “This transformation enables the ecosystem to gain a more inclusive and stronger structure,” he said.