“WE WILL NOT GIVE BONUSES TO THOSE WHO USE EVERY OPPORTUNITY FOR PLEASURE MONKEYING”

Finally, you once again enabled the implementation of Türkiye’s first electric vehicle, Togg. Togg, which has taken the leadership seat with a 35 percent market share in the country, continues to decorate the roads in many European countries. However, I regret to present this issue to you and our nation. While we are trying to break down the walls of learned helplessness that have been imposed on Türkiye for decades, some people are constantly putting obstacles in our way in this process. We have never taken into account those who use every opportunity they get to preach goodness, and we will not give them any bonuses from now on. We will continue to achieve new successes in the same way that we responded to those who asked, “What do they know about producing automobiles?”

We are about to leave behind almost a quarter of a century on the path of serving the nation and the country. Since the first day we took over the responsibility of governing Türkiye, we have acted and continue to act with the awareness that we carry the responsibility of every member of our nation on our shoulders. In the last 22.5 years, with the support of you and our beloved nation, we have taken Türkiye to the next level in every field, from education to health, from transportation to trade, from agriculture to security. We have given a solid structure to our economy, which we have built on four pillars: investment, employment, production and export.

“WE CONTINUE TO WRITE SUCCESS STORIES IN EXPORT”

Protectionist tendencies are on the rise on a global scale and commercial competition is becoming increasingly harsh; At a time when wars and conflicts followed water, climate, food and energy crises, we made the Turkish economy resilient to shocks. Look, I would like to remind you here, my dear brothers, of some figures that you know very well. Despite the conflicts in our region, we grew our economy by 4.5 percent last year, reaching 1.1 trillion dollars and per capita national income to 13 thousand 110 dollars. We increased our foreign trade volume to 617 billion dollars and our exports of goods and services to 361 billion dollars. We will exceed 400 billion dollars in the very near future, God willing. We continue to write a success story, especially in exports. Last month, our exports broke the April record by reaching 19.3 billion dollars, an increase of 13.6 percent compared to the same month of the previous year. This figure was also recorded as the highest monthly value in the history of our Republic. This increase recorded in April showed that Türkiye’s exports maintained their strong momentum despite the difficulties caused by war and crises.

We exported 82.9 billion dollars in the January-April period of 2024. Our annualized goods exports increased by 2.5 percent to 257.6 billion dollars in 2024. Our services exports, which were 14 billion dollars in 2002, increased 7 times to 101.7 billion dollars in 2023. Our services trade surplus amounted to 52.5 billion dollars in 2023, and this amount made a strong contribution to our current account balance. Türkiye has become the sixth country in the world with the highest surplus in services trade. Our defense and aerospace exports exceeded 5.5 billion dollars last year. At the SAHA EXPO 2024 fair, 123 agreements with a total business volume of 6.2 billion dollars, 4.3 billion dollars of which were export-oriented, were signed.

“OUR UNEMPLOYMENT RATE CONTINUES ITS SINGLE-DIGITAL COURSE”

We further reinforce the momentum we have achieved in exports with tourism and employment figures. We hosted 56.7 million visitors in 2023 and earned 54.3 billion dollars in tourism income. We increased our tourism income by 5.4 percent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 8 billion 784 million dollars. We reduced our unemployment rate to 8.6 percent. We increased our employment to 32.5 million people and our employment rate to 49.5 percent. While our labor force participation rate increased to 54.2 percent, our unemployment rate continues to remain in single digits. Foreign investors, who are aware of the potential of the Turkish economy, have established 89 thousand companies in our country in the last 21 years and invested 262 billion dollars. These investors also provided employment to 1 million 300 thousand people and exported 70 billion dollars a year, thus bringing foreign currency to our country.

While we are saying all this, we are of course aware that not everything is rosy. We know the pressure that temporary price increases resulting from regional and global developments put on both our citizens and the real sector. You are the closest witness to this fact: During our governments, we never saw the economy as consisting only of data, graphs and figures. We have always listened to your opinions, suggestions and even criticism while creating and implementing our economic policies. We provided the picture of the economy that the indicators tell us with the bazaar, the market, the stories of the tradesmen, farmers, industrialists and producers.

“WE FACE AN OPPORTUNISTIC PRICING HABIT”

Today, with all actors of the economy; We are in sincere communication with employers, entrepreneurs, laborers, farmers, tradesmen and craftsmen. Today, we try to keep the pulse of the street, the bazaar and the market. I want you to know that our economic management is taking every precaution to minimize the stress experienced by the market and will continue to do so. We will continue to follow this and provide necessary guidance in line with the suggestions, findings and criticisms we receive from you. On the other hand, we are faced with an opportunistic pricing habit that cannot be explained by the increase in production and transportation costs. While Türkiye today has the lowest input costs in Europe in many areas, especially energy, it is obvious that if there are disproportionate increases in the prices of some products, this cannot be explained by market conditions. In other words, some people are reaching into the pockets, purses and earnings of our citizens with exorbitant prices, citing fluctuations in input costs.

However, our business and trade ethics have been shaped by the thousand-year-old Ahi tradition. In this tradition, there is no place for taking advantage of opportunity, gaining unfair advantage, imitation, adulteration and self-interest-oriented acting. On the contrary; Ahiism means solidarity, helping each other, and equating God’s consent with the goodness, benefit and well-being of the people. That’s why we determinedly continue our inspections against opportunists in the market. I would especially like to express that I expect support from you on this issue. With these thoughts, I wholeheartedly congratulate our brothers who will receive service honor certificates and plaques. I greet you all with love and respect and wish you continued success.

Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin, YTB President Abdülhadi Turus, Science Dissemination Foundation Board of Trustees Chairman Erdoğan, AK Party Deputy Chairman and Head of Foreign Relations Zafer Sırakaya, AK Party Central Decision and Executive Board Member Mesut Özil and many guests attended the “YTB Diaspora 2.0 Meeting” event held by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) in London, the capital of England.

In his speech here, Minister Tekin stated that the diaspora increased as Türkiye became stronger internally, and read examples of letters written in 2002 for the Minister of National Education to open on the 100th anniversary of the Republic.

Explaining that the schools are in a much better condition than in 2002, Tekin said that while the number of classes was 350 thousand in 2002, this number is 750 thousand today.

Minister Tekin stated that the classrooms built before 2002 were destroyed in the earthquake or were rebuilt to strengthen and improve them, and that only 160 thousand of the 750 thousand classrooms available today were from before 2002.

Stating that the success rate in schools has increased according to the international exams, Tekin said, “We have a shortcoming. People complain about education because we are not where they dreamed of being. We all have the right to dream better. I also dream and we work to make it better. While doing all this, our citizens have expectations from the education and training processes regarding our social values ​​and national and moral values. It was necessary to focus on them a little. We have focused on there recently.” he said.

“AS Türkiye GETTING STRONGER, DIASPORA GOT STRONGER”

In his speech, Erdoğan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Science Dissemination Foundation, said, “We are honored to see that the Turkish diaspora in the world has reached very good points. This also adds strength to Türkiye. As Turkey gets stronger, the diaspora gets stronger, and as the diaspora gets stronger, Turkey gets stronger. On the one hand, Türkiye’s potential increases, and on the other hand, sectors where reverse brain drain occurs emerge.” he said.

Emphasizing that Türkiye is a destination country not only for those who return to their country, but also for qualified Muslims living in the West, Erdoğan said, “There is an absolute advantage and a comparative advantage principle in the economy. When trading, countries gain through comparative advantage. The same is true in culture. Western culture and civilization, with the victory of 200 years and the superiority complex brought about by colonialism, thinks that its own culture is superior and imposes this.” he said.

Stating that some countries market their culture, Erdoğan stated that India can market yoga to the world and said, “Consider how many such values ​​we have. But in order to market them, it is necessary to do them properly and know their value.” he said.

Emphasizing that Türkiye uses its service superiority, climate advantage and Istanbul Airport advantage in tourism, Erdoğan said, “We should also use the themes that belong to us. I think we have become cowardly in living and exhibiting our own culture. As Turkey becomes stronger and the presentation of its cultural elements becomes more elegant, the diaspora will take itself to a stronger position in the country where it is located.” he said.

“WE ARE AT A PLANE WHERE IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO TALK WITHOUT TURKEY”

AK Party Deputy Chairman Sırakaya also touched on the phrase “Diaspora 2.0” and explained that first generation Turkish immigrants went to Europe with the dream of returning.

Sırakaya stated that the first generation, which he called “Diaspora 1.0”, has now become the “giving hand, not the receiving hand” and said that they are trying to exist in all areas of life in the countries where the Turkish diaspora is present.

Pointing out that Türkiye’s reputation in the international community increased the self-confidence of Turks living abroad, Sırakaya said, “I was born and raised in Germany. It was valuable to see news about Turkey in the news every 6 months or once a year. It was not possible to hear the names of the presidents at that time. However, if there was a visit between Germany and Turkey, we heard about it. But today, we are at a level where it is not possible to talk globally, in the world league and in the European class, without Turkey.” he said.

Sırakaya underlined that it is not possible for the West to find a solution to its own problems without Turkey.

Former football player and AK Party MKYK member Özil stated that although he was the best player in the training he attended at the beginning of his football career, he was not selected because of his name, and said, “I participated in training to play in big clubs. I was the best, but I did not give up when I was not selected because of my name. When I became a professional at the age of 16, I was very strong mentally.” he said.

Saying that everyone can be a star football player but not a legend, Özil explained that there is pressure on good football players to contribute to more goals and win.

Özil noted that he devoted more time to his family to combat this and said, “I have struggled on and off the field throughout my career. In 2018, I was attacked when I took a photo with our President.” he said.

Breaking news: The Presidential cabinet is meeting in Beştepe with a busy agenda. At the meeting, where foreign policy topics will be at the forefront, the focus will be on the ongoing indirect talks between the USA and Iran, which have not yet been carried to a concrete stage.

The stage reached in reaching a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire between the parties will be discussed. The current situation will be focused on the effects of the actual blockage in the Strait of Hormuz on the Turkish economy. The reflections of the Unofficial Summit of the Organization of Turkic States held in Kazakhstan last week will be discussed at the meeting. The upcoming Eid al-Adha measures will also be among the hot topics of the cabinet members.

IRAN – USA/ISRAEL WAR

The Iran-USA/Israel and Russia-Ukraine conflict and Israel’s aggressive attitude towards the countries in the region are also among the important topics. The current situation will be focused on the effects of the actual blockage in the Strait of Hormuz on the Turkish economy. Current data of the diversification policy in the field of energy will be on the table.

TERRORISM-FREE Türkiye

In domestic policy, the latest situation in the Terror-Free Türkiye process and the legal steps expected to be taken in the coming days will be discussed. Following the report from the security units, the projection of the steps that can be taken under the umbrella of the parliament will be reviewed.

REFLECTIONS OF THE KAZAKHSTAN VISIT

The reflections of the Unofficial Summit of the Organization of Turkic States held in Kazakhstan last week will be discussed at the meeting. Both the steps taken with the Turkish world and the reflections of bilateral contacts will be discussed.

PRECAUTIONS FOR Eid-al-Adha

The upcoming Eid al-Adha measures will also be among the hot topics of the cabinet members. Actions to be taken to ensure that citizens have a peaceful and safe holiday will be discussed.

Breaking news: Police of the Financial Crimes Department, affiliated with the Istanbul Police; It was determined that the tenders of Boğaziçi Facility Management Services Joint Stock Company, one of the affiliated companies of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM), were organized by suspicious persons. Detailed examinations were made. It was determined that some transactions were carried out in violation of the legislation during the tender processes and that the crime of “Tender Rigging” was committed within the scope of organizational activities. Operations were carried out to many addresses in Adana, Bursa, Diyarbakır, Konya and Yalova provinces, based in Istanbul. A total of 57 suspects were caught and detained during raids in six provinces. The detained suspects were brought to the Istanbul Provincial Police Department.

HERE ARE THE NAMES TAKEN INTO CUSTODY;

1. Ahmet Sıralı — Tender and Contracts Chief / President
2. Aydin Soydaş — 1st Operations Management Chief
3. Aytaç İnal — Human Resources Chief
4. Bozan Aslan — Traffic Operations Management Chief / Member
5. Büşra Emen — Office Management and Executive Assistant
6. Ekrem Aslan — 2nd Deputy Operations Management Manager / Expert Member
7. Erhan Çamkıranoğlu — Boğaziçi Facility Employee
8. Ethem Pişkin — General Manager
9. Eyüp Öztürk — Accounting Manager / Financial Member
10. Gökhan Parlak — 1st Operations Management Manager / Expert Member
11. Hamdi Sağlam — Operations Management Manager
12. Hüsnem Gökhan Büyükdağ — Purchasing Personnel
13. İsmail Koçan — Vira Printing Company Official
14. Kübra Silik — Tender and Purchasing Specialist
15. Mansur Güneş — Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.
16. Mehmet Alkanalka — Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.
17. Metin Çelik — Expert at Boğaziçi Facility
18. Mustafa Özay — 3rd Operations Management Chief
19. Nihat Güven — Human Resources Manager
20. Nurullah Yetiştiren — Support Personnel at Boğaziçi Facility
21. Oğuzhan Şaştım — Chef at Boğaziçi Facility
22. Onur Oz — Chief Financial Officer
23. Ömer Yazıcı — Director at Kuwait Bank
24. Rıfat Çimen — Corporate Communications and Business Development Manager
25. Salih Kuzu — Chef at Boğaziçi Facility
26. Selim Çolak — Eylül Group Employee
27. Sema Akça Oflas — General Manager
28. Sercan Öztürk — City Toilets Operations Management Chief / Expert Member
29. Sinan Bilgin — Support Services Manager
30. Tolga Volkan Aslan — Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.
31. Ufuk Zereden — Acting Human Resources Manager / Member
32. Yasin İpek — Deputy General Manager. V.
33. Yavuz Şaştım — Expert in Isparta
34. Zeliha Sıralı — Secretary General of ADL Travel Company
35. Zeynel Duman — Purchasing Manager
36. Coşkun Ekşi — Art Event Company Official
37. Çiğdem Ağaoğlu — Ağaoğlu Consulting Firm Official
38. Elif Köleoğulları — Expert in Boğaziçi Facility Management
39. Emin Ayaz — GEPA Company Official
40. Erhan Samancı — TESA Company Official
41. Ferit Balyen — Atlantic Company Official
42. Halil İbrahim Büyükparmaksız — Pratik Company Official
43. Hasan Zeki Amasyalı — GEPA Company Official
44. Hayrettin Bakır — Eylül Group Company Official
45. Hilal Koçan — EST Company Representative
46. ​​İsmail Takak — İSA Car Rental Company Official
47. Kasım Er — Emperor Auto Company Official
48. Kurtuluş Acar — İlktem Company Official
49. Mehmet Mişe — 2M Trade Company Official
50. Meryem Manisa — Kırkbeş Tourism Company Official
51. Mesut Türkeri — MTS
52. Muammer Yamak — BAYA Company Official
53. Sabri Bakır — Yapıken Company Official
54. Safa Bülent Kalkavan — Cleankal Company Official
55. Yiğit Avcı — Cleankal Company Official
56. Yusuf Dalkılıç — Pestem Company Official
57. Zafer Kuruoğlu — Canel Company Official

In the simultaneous operation carried out in 20 provinces under the coordination of Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, a transaction volume of 11 billion 300 million liras was detected in the accounts of 183 suspects. In the operation carried out by the gendarmerie teams upon the instructions of the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, it was determined that the illegal betting network with foreign connections managed the money traffic of 7 billion liras, and 50 suspects were caught. Many luxury vehicles, apartments and assets were seized during the operations. In his statement regarding the operation, Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek said, “We continue to fight with a relentless determination against criminal organizations that covet the halal earnings of the nation, especially illegal betting and virtual gambling. Our fight against crime and criminal organizations will continue uncompromisingly until we root out their roots, with the authority given by the law.”

Within the scope of the investigation carried out by the teams of the General Directorate of Security under the coordination of the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, simultaneous operations were organized in 20 provinces. A total of 10 separate illegal betting structures, including 7 illegal betting offices and 3 illegal betting “home offices”, were detected. 136 teams and 3 Special Action teams were assigned to the operation, which was carried out as a result of months of technical monitoring and intelligence work.

11 BILLION 300 MILLION LIRA TRANSACTION VOLUME

During the operation, judicial proceedings were initiated against 183 suspects who were determined to have a total transaction volume exceeding 11 billion 300 million liras in their accounts. It was determined that the suspects made unfair profits through illegal betting organizations and transferred money through many bank accounts.

ILLEGAL BETTING NETWORK HAS BEEN BROKEN

In a separate operation carried out by the Gendarmerie General Command teams under the instructions of the Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the financial footing of illegal betting sites with foreign connections was targeted.

BANK ACCOUNT FOR 70 THOUSAND LIRA MONTHLY FEE

In this context, through the “field group” established within the organization; It was determined that bank accounts were opened in the names of people recruited for a monthly fee of approximately 70 thousand liras in Mersin, Adıyaman, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaraş, Adana and Antalya provinces, and commercial accounts were created by establishing front limited companies through these people. It was determined that the individuals in question were accommodated in residences and hotels belonging to the organization for certain periods of time in order to complete their banking transactions and unblock the accounts.

THEY OPERATED WITH A DAY AND NIGHT SHIFT SYSTEM

On the other hand, through the “office group” created by the organization; It was determined that the bank accounts and front company accounts provided were identified to illegal betting sites, the proceeds of crime were managed through these accounts, and activities were carried out with a day and night shift system in many residences rented at different addresses.

7 BILLION TRANSACTION VOLUME

As a result of the studies, it was determined that the organized crime group was laundering illegal betting proceeds. 50 suspects were caught in the operation against the criminal network, which is estimated to have a transaction volume of approximately 7 billion lira.

LUXURY VEHICLES AND FLATS WERE SEIZED

Within the scope of the investigation, many luxury vehicles, apartments and various assets belonging to the suspects, which were considered to have been obtained through crime, were seized. It was reported that the security forces’ operations against illegal betting and laundering of crime proceeds are continuing.

“OUR STRUGGLE WILL CONTINUE WITH THE AUTHORITY GIVEN BY THE LAW, WITHOUT COMPROMISE, UNTIL IT DIGES ITS ROOTS”

In his statement regarding the operation carried out, Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek stated that they continue their fight with a relentless determination against criminal organizations that covet the halal earnings of the nation, especially illegal betting and virtual gambling, and added: “In this context; Today, at dawn, two major blows were dealt against illegal betting networks that target the future of our children and our economic security. Having successfully carried out these operations against these structures that target the peace of our nation and the economic security of our state; I would like to thank our Antalya and Mersin Chief Public Prosecutor’s Offices, our General Directorate of Security, our Gendarmerie General Command and all our teams fighting against cyber crimes, the invisible heroes of the cyber world. No crime focus is privileged in the face of justice. “Our fight against crime and criminal organizations will continue uncompromisingly, with the authority given by law, until we root out their roots,” he said.

In the operation against the crimes of ‘Illegal betting’, ‘Qualified fraud’, ‘Bribery and money laundering’, organized in 21 provinces centered in Adana, 154 suspects, including journalist Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, were sent to the courthouse after their procedures at the police station. SABAH reached the statement of Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, who testified for 4 hours at the Anti-Cyber ​​Crimes Branch Directorate. The provisions of effective remorse were explained to Kütahyalı one by one. However, Kütahyalı claimed that he was not a member of the organization and said that he did not want to benefit from effective remorse. Kütahyalı, who denied the accusations against him, claimed that the money movements in question resulted from transactions he made through some tradesmen in Perpa in order to pay off his credit card debts. He stated that the inflow of more than 35 million lira into his account from electronic payment institutions belonged to the same system, and that he had never bet in his life. Stating that he found the operation correct, Kütahyalı also explained the details of his assets during the interrogation.

‘MONEY WITHDRAWED FROM MY CREDIT CARD’
Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, who said in his statement that he did not have an account in cryptocurrency exchanges, said, “I am completely unfamiliar with these transactions. I was unemployed between 2017 and 2020 and could not appear on screens, and for this reason, my income was zero and I accumulated a lot of debt on my credit cards. A relative of mine said, ‘Why are you paying so much interest, go to Perpa to withdraw money from your card, pay with low interest, return your credit cards in this way.’ It made sense since I was also in financial difficulties. Money from my card.” “It was withdrawn and transferred to my account. This money belongs to me, it is the money from my credit card,” he said.