In his speech at the program held in the Rectorate Building Foyer Area, BİK General Manager Abdulkadir Çay said that Istanbul University is one of the most established institutions of journalism education in Türkiye.

Stating that the Press Advertisement Institution was established in 1961 to mediate the publication of official announcements and advertisements in periodicals, Çay stated that internet news sites have been included in this scope as of 2023.

Çay stated that the institution also supports press organizations, associations and press workers, and said, “We are a unique institution in the world with its announcement and advertising distribution model in which the sector is holistically subsidized.” he said.

Pointing out that the “15 July Headlines Journalism Workshop” was implemented to develop accurate, fast and responsible journalism reflexes in times of crisis, Çay emphasized that the program was completed at Istanbul University, after Akdeniz, Ondokuz Mayıs, Ege, Ankara, Atatürk and Gaziantep universities.

Underlining that the workshop was organized with the theme of “Preserve the Memory, Write the Truth”, Çay pointed out that the students had the opportunity to experience the conditions of the journalists working on the night of July 15.

Explaining that some media organs made publications supporting anti-democratic interventions during the coup processes, Çay said, “The headlines ‘Turkish Army is on Duty’, ‘The Army Has Taken Over the Administration’, ‘We are in the Joy of the National Holiday’, which started before the 1960 Coup and continued in the following days, openly supporting the coup, have taken their place in history as shameful documents for our press.” he said.

Stating that similar publications were seen during the February 28 period, Çay also noted that heedless headlines were made such as “Four warnings from the Army”, “Tanks cannot be taken lightly”, “The Army is doing its duty”, etc. as the spokesman of the junta.

“HEADLINES WERE MADE THAT WON’T BE FORGOTTEN EVEN CENTURIES LAST”

Çay stated that the coup plotters failed when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the people to the squares on the night of July 15.

Stating that the Turkish press also acts with a total national consciousness, Çay said:

“Newspapers, televisions and radios were raided by FETO terrorists. The coup plotters who raided TRT even gave orders to ‘Shoot’ those who did not obey their treacherous instructions. They thought that these threats would scare both the media and the nation. However, like millions of people that night, Yeni Şafak newspaper employee Mustafa Cambaz said, ‘Those who carried out the uprising should not be able to sit down as they stood up. In fact, they should not be able to sit down at all. At the request and order of Commander-in-Chief Erdoğan, they took to the streets. ‘We’re going out.’ He shared. He went out to the streets, resisted, and while the bullets of the coup plotters pierced his chest, he became a martyr before he could see victory. Yes, a lot happened that night, but our media did not step back. Today, headlines were made in this workshop that will inspire you, our valued students, and that will not be forgotten even after 10 years or even centuries. “I congratulate hundreds of our popular and local newspapers once again for standing tall and publishing headlines such as ‘No Passage for a Coup’, ‘Slap of national will to the FETO coup’, ‘Traitors’ for the sake of the survival of the state.”

Istanbul University Vice Rector Mehmet Adak said that July 15 was an important turning point not only in terms of politics but also in terms of communication and media responsibility.

Adak said, “In such crisis moments when information spreads rapidly and disinformation intensifies, the ethical principles of the journalism profession, the verification reflex and the understanding of the public interest become even more critical.” he said.

Underlining that universities are not institutions that only transfer knowledge, Adak noted the importance of ethics, truth and public interest in communication education.

“DURING THAT NIGHT AND THE NEXT PERIOD, JOURNALISTS DID NOT ONLY TRANSPORT THE NEWS”

Istanbul University Faculty of Communication Dean Prof. Dr. Hatun Boztepe Taşkıran also said that the workshop brings together theoretical and practical journalism education.

Taşkıran pointed out that the workshop was very important because of the practical rethinking of media ethics, which constitute the main focuses of journalism education, the culture of verification and the understanding of journalism that carries public responsibility in times of crisis, and emphasized that, as the faculty of communication, they aim not only to write news, but also to train communicators who are committed to ethical values ​​and have a developed awareness of social responsibility.

Prof. Dr. Taşkıran pointed out that the night of July 15, in addition to its negative effects on the political and social structure of the country, was also an extremely critical field of experience for the media and said, “On that night and in the following period, journalists not only reported news, but also fought against information pollution, tried to deliver verified information to the public, and continued their publishing activities under very difficult conditions. For this reason, crisis journalism has become one of the most important topics of today’s communication education.” he said.

– “WE REMEMBERED THE TRAITORY COUP ATTEMPT AGAIN WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF OUR STUDENTS”

In his statement to AA correspondent after the program, BİK General Manager Çay said that they were carrying out a special study in cooperation with universities on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of July 15.

“We remembered this treacherous coup attempt with the participation of our student brothers and sisters in those workshops. Their participation and inclusion in this process was very valuable.” Çay stated that 7 universities representing 7 regions of Türkiye were included in the program.

Stating that the program held at Istanbul University is the seventh leg of the series, Çay said that the students had hands-on experience with the processes of preparing headlines, designing pages, selecting photographs and creating news text together with experienced journalists, and added: “Therefore, we will remember, live and keep alive July 15 again and again.” he said.

Emphasizing that the workshop is also important in terms of university-sector cooperation, Çay said, “We see it as a platform where our student brothers and sisters have the opportunity to experience theory and practice together. Their perspective on the issue is important. We trust the work they will do. In fact, we are here today as an indicator of this trust.” he said.

Stating that the works produced within the scope of the workshop will be exhibited in July, Çay said, “Hopefully, we will be sharing the outputs as an exhibition in July. We are also looking forward to it.” gave the information.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wrote an article titled “The Key to Peace in Eurasia: The Turkish World”. President Erdoğan used the following statements in his article:

Regional conflicts and crises today pose comprehensive challenges to our common security, economic prosperity and stability on a global scale. The global system faces a serious stress test in the face of new asymmetric risks brought by conflictive geopolitical competition, breakdowns in energy supply security and related financial fluctuations. However, the new dynamics arising from the great transformation based on artificial intelligence further deepen the fragilities of the global system. As we have been emphasizing for a long time, all these challenges clearly reveal the inadequacy of the current international system and global governance mechanisms and the need for reform.

In my address to the United Nations General Assembly in 2014, I stated that both the structure and legitimacy of the international system had become controversial and that a more just world was possible with the phrase ‘The world is bigger than 5’. I regret to state that no meaningful progress has been made since then to make the global system more fair and inclusive. On the contrary, the rules-based international order has suffered further erosion. The most obvious and painful example of this is what happened in Gaza. Israel tramples on the common values ​​of humanity with its crimes against humanity.

As Türkiye, we argue that global and regional crises can only be overcome by building an order based on “applicable rules”. In this context, we do not refrain from taking responsibility both before multilateral organizations and individually in order to end crises and conflicts in our region and at the global level. In our peace diplomacy and mediation initiatives, we establish dialogue with all parties on the basis of trust and ensure that concrete steps are taken to resolve the issues at the diplomatic table. We are pleased to see that our principled diplomacy in the name of global peace and prosperity is evident around the world.

However, it is obvious that bilateral, regional and global partnerships need to be expanded in order to create a more equitable, inclusive and stable climate of peace and prosperity. At this point, we believe that regional disputes should be resolved primarily through the institutional initiatives of the countries in the region. In line with our understanding of ‘regional ownership’, I would like to underline that we are always open to joint initiatives with the organizations we are members of, especially the Organization of Turkish States, and our neighbors. The cooperation and partnerships we maintain with friendly and brotherly Kazakhstan on almost every critical issue, especially the structural problems of the UN Security Council, the resolution of regional and global conflicts and the establishment of permanent economic prosperity, are of an exceptional quality in terms of our foreign policy.

In 1991, Türkiye became the first country to recognize Kazakhstan on the day it declared its independence, and since then, our relations, which draw their strength from our common history, cultural and spiritual ties, have become stronger day by day. The history of our law of friendship and spiritual ties undoubtedly goes back much further. Since the 2000s, a new threshold has been crossed in our bilateral relations; Our cooperation and partnerships have started to yield more concrete results through the institutional mechanisms we have built in the political, economic and cultural fields. Our cooperation in the economic field, especially in energy, transportation, logistics and defense industry, spreads to a wider and more solid ground with our partnerships in education and culture.

We have certainly achieved significant gains in developing our economic and commercial relations with the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council that we established in 2012. Today, our trade volume with Kazakhstan has approached the level of 10 billion dollars. Direct investments made by Turkish business people in Kazakhstan to date have reached 6 billion dollars. Turkish contractors have completed nearly 550 projects worth more than 30 billion dollars in Kazakhstan. The trade volume target we set with the President of Kazakhstan, my brother Kasım Cömert Tokayev, is 15 billion dollars. I have full faith that we will achieve this goal in a short time, hopefully, with mutual efforts.

One of our priority agenda items is to perfect our relations in education, sports and cultural fields, which strengthen the bonds of brotherhood between our people. As it is known, Ankara was selected as the Tourism Capital of the Organization of Turkish States for 2026. On this occasion, I would like to invite our Kazakh brothers to our Capital, which reflects the common memory of the Turkish world with its rich cultural, historical and human heritage. We will be pleased to see our Kazakh brothers among us in the historical, cultural and sports events we will hold throughout the year.

Our visit to Kazakhstan on May 14 is very meaningful for us. The bilateral meetings we will hold in Kazakhstan are of great importance in these days when our region is tested both politically and economically, such as energy security and supply problems, especially the crisis between the USA-Israel and Iran and the fragile ceasefire process in Gaza. I believe that this visit will both improve the political, economic and commercial relations between our countries and contribute to the ancient friendship between our peoples. Again, within the scope of this visit, we will attend the Unofficial Summit of Heads of State of the Organization of Turkish States. At this summit, we, as the Turkish world, will discuss our political, economic, and cultural cooperation and partnership potentials and have the opportunity to evaluate regional political and economic challenges. We, as states representing the Turkish world; We will never refrain from taking responsibility for the establishment of a climate of peace, prosperity and tranquility in our region and in the world, with Hodja Ahmet Yesevi’s understanding of ‘When the have-nots are not satisfied and the have-nots cry, the world will quickly collapse’.

President Erdoğan’s statements are as follows:

“WE SIGNED 13 DIFFERENT DOCUMENTS”

Mr. President, my dear brother, esteemed Ministers, esteemed representatives of our business world; I greet you with my most heartfelt feelings, respect and affection.

I am very pleased to meet with you, esteemed representatives of our business world, in our ancestral homeland, Kazakhstan, on the occasion of the sixth meeting of our High Level Strategic Cooperation Council. In your presence, I would like to thank my dear brother, Mr. Tokayev, for his close attention to the issues of our business people.

At the beginning of my words, I would like to congratulate the brotherly Kazakh people with my sincerest wishes on the occasion of the “Homeland Defenders Day and Victory Day”, which was celebrated recently. We see that the reform program carried out under the leadership of Mr. Tokayev is the driving force of Kazakhstan’s rise. At this point, I hope that the new constitution adopted in the referendum held on March 15 will be beneficial for the brotherly Kazakh people.

I would like to emphasize once again that we will always be the closest supporter of Kazakhstan as it celebrates its 35th anniversary of independence. In our morning meetings, we discussed many issues on our common agenda; We signed 13 different documents that will strengthen our bilateral cooperation. I believe that the business forum will contribute to the development of economic and commercial relations between our countries.

Dear participants, we are happy that our economic relations with Kazakhstan are progressing day by day with your valuable contributions. We follow with great satisfaction the progress Kazakhstan has made in the field of economy under the strong leadership of Mr. Tokayev. In Kazakhstan, whose gross domestic product showed a striking growth of 6.5 percent in 2025, per capita national income approached 15 thousand dollars.

We now have Kazakhstan, which has the largest economy in Central Asia, with a total foreign trade volume of 145 billion dollars. With the impact of this growth, Kazakhstan has become our most traded partner in the Turkish world in 2025. Our nearly 5,500 companies; With its investments reaching 6 billion dollars from construction to finance, from tourism to informatics, it supports not only prosperity but also our brotherhood.

Our contractors have undertaken more than 500 projects worth up to $30 billion across the country. They became a source of pride for our country with the works they successfully completed and presented to the service of the Kazakh people.

“OUR TRADE VOLUME APPROACHED 10 BILLION DOLLARS”

On the other hand, we are very pleased that Kazakhstan’s investments in our country are increasing day by day. More than 750 Kazakh companies continue their activities in Türkiye with investments approaching 2 billion dollars. Thanks to our strong partnership based on mutual trust, our trade volume approached 10 billion dollars by the end of last year. Of course, we are not satisfied with these; We continue our efforts with determination to reach our target of 15 billion dollars in a sustainable and balanced way. Frankly, I am sure that we can do much more and reach much more advanced levels. In this regard, the comprehensive action plan we adopted at the Joint Economic Commission meeting held in Astana last month will bring a new breath to our trade and investment relations. I think that the agreement on mutual protection and promotion of investments that we signed today on the occasion of our High Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting will further encourage mutual investments.

In our meetings today, we also discussed issues that will positively affect our trade, such as switching to an electronic permit system with Kazakhstan, increasing transit document quotas, and liberalizing bilateral and transit transportation. I hope that we will make progress on these issues in the coming period.

Dear friends; We are facing multidimensional challenges such as regional conflicts, energy supply security, artificial intelligence transformation and breaks in supply chains. As a result of this dynamic, developing cooperation between countries has become even more important. We follow with appreciation Kazakhstan’s breakthroughs in the field of artificial intelligence with the visionary approach of President Mr. Tokayev. Tomorrow, we will hold the unofficial summit of the Turkic World Organization in Turkestan, the hometown of Hodja Ahmet Yesevi. I would like to express that we found it very accurate and meaningful that the main theme of the summit was determined as Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development.

Regarding energy; Today, we discussed a wide range of cooperation opportunities with my dear brother, from the exploitation of hydrocarbon fields to transportation and the discovery of critical minerals. As Türkiye, we are a country that has ensured energy supply security by ensuring resource diversity years ago.

We wish to deliver more oil from Kazakhstan to world markets through our country. We have a very good past cooperation with Kazakhstan in the field of defense industry, where we have made significant progress. Today, my dear brother and I confirmed our will to further advance our cooperation in this field with new projects, including joint production.

We are working to revitalize the Middle Corridor passing through the Caspian by integrating our railway connections, port infrastructure and digital customs systems. While bringing our countries closer to each other, it remains our goal to bring the Eurasian region to a more competitive position in the global economy.

Dear business people, I would like to remind you here of the following quote from the Divan-ı Hikmet of His Holiness Piri Turkestan Hodja Ahmet Yesevi: ‘He who sets out on the path will attain his end goal.’ As leaders, we will continue to do whatever is necessary to get rid of whatever obstacles hinder you or hinder you on this path. As the Turkish-Kazakh business world, you will not give up on walking patiently on your path. You will invest, produce, export, provide employment, and contribute to the economies of both countries. We will stand hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder; We will continue this struggle together, tirelessly and determinedly.

Our expectation from you is to lead projects that are based not only on economic but also on human gains. Investment in people is the greatest, most lasting investment. I would like to express here that we expect you to increase your support to the Turkish-Kazakh Hoca Ahmet Yesevi University, which is one of the symbols of our common future and has given 100 thousand graduates since its establishment.

As I end my words with these thoughts, I would like to congratulate our Kazakh brothers on the upcoming Eid al-Adha, in the person of my dear brother Tokayev. I pray to God that the holiday brings peace to the Kazakh people, the Turkish-Islamic world and all humanity. I offer my heartfelt greetings and affection to my Kazakh brothers and sisters who have trusted Turkish companies for decades, and I wish our valuable business people great success in their work. May God open our path and fortune. Hope to see you again, stay healthy.

An indictment was prepared against Hakan Bahçetepe, who was suspended from his duty as Gaziosmanpaşa Mayor, and 8 suspects after his arrest within the scope of the investigation carried out by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM).

Aziz Lal, Aziz İhsan Aktaş, Baki Aydöner, Erdal Celal Aksoy, Gözde Bahçetepe, Gürkan Dölekli, Hakan Bahçetepe, Seza Büyükçulha and Özer Ayık were listed as ‘Suspect’. Additionally, Aziz İhsan Aktaş’s statement, taken within the scope of effective remorse provisions, was included.

HTS records were included in the indictment. It was stated that during the examination, it was determined that Seza Büyükçulha had communication records in the same place as Gürkan Dölekli, Özer Ayık and Baki Aydöner and other suspects in the indictment.

In the opinion of Istanbul Provincial Police Department’s Financial Crimes Fighting Branch Directorate; It was stated that the suspect Seza Büyükçulha was Ekrem İmamoğlu’s childhood friend, the suspect Baki Aydöner was a member of the CHP Assembly and was close to İmamoğlu, and both suspects were tried as defendants in the ‘corruption case against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’.

THE CLAIM THAT “300 THOUSAND DOLLARS WAS GIVEN TO BAHÇETEPE FOR EXCAVATION PERMIT”

In Aziz İhsan Aktaş’s statement, we requested permission from Gaziosmanpaşa Municipality regarding the excavation permit to install a power line at the station before the 2024 local elections. When CHP won the municipality after the local elections, they extended the process to respond to our request. When Baki Aydöner and Seza Büyükçulha met with Gaziosmanpaşa Mayor Hakan Bahçetepe and said that the mayor would give permission if 300 thousand dollars was given, Gürkan Dölekli stated that 300 thousand dollars was given to Gaziosmanpaşa Mayor Hakan Bahçetepe through Business Manager Özer Ayık.

Within the scope of the investigation carried out under the coordination of the Adana Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Terrorism Financing and Laundering Crimes Investigation Bureau, a large-scale operation was carried out against the organized crime structure that has been followed for a long time by the teams of the Adana Provincial Police Department’s Cyber ​​Crimes Branch Directorate.

ILLEGAL BETTING, FRAUD, MONEY LAUNDERING

In the file prepared in line with MASAK reports, technical and physical tracking studies, bank movements, HTS records, digital material reviews and crypto asset analyses, it was determined that the suspects laundered the criminal proceeds obtained from fraudulent activities carried out through illegal betting and phishing methods through different financial systems.

BANKING AND CRYPTO NETWORK WERE DEVELOPED IN THE OPERATION

According to the investigation file, it was determined that the criminal organization established special software infrastructures and panel systems, provided financial infrastructure to illegal betting sites, and carried out transfer organizations worth millions of liras through electronic money institutions and virtual POS networks. It was also noted that the organization circulates criminal proceeds within multi-layered financial systems, actively uses crypto asset systems, and carries out cash conversion and layering transactions through jewelers and foreign exchange offices.

IT WAS DETECTED THAT 100 BILLION LIRAS AND 2 BILLION AMERICAN DOLLARS WERE LAUNDERED

During financial investigations, it was determined that suspicious money movements of approximately 100 billion Turkish Liras and 2 billion US Dollars were laundered. It was evaluated that the structure was a professional financial crime organization operating on a national and international scale.

DETENTION DECISION FOR BANK MANAGERS AND COPS

Within the scope of the investigation, strong evidence was obtained that middle and senior managers working in some private banks took an active role in the transfer and layering transactions of proceeds obtained from crime within the banking system. In addition, it was determined that some police personnel made inquiries regarding the arrest, detention and search warrants given against suspects in exchange for bribes and leaked information about the operation processes.

SIMULTANEOUS OPERATIONS WERE HELD IN 21 PROVINCES

In this context, simultaneous operations were organized at 228 different addresses in 21 provinces. While operations were initiated to capture 198 suspects, detention orders were issued for 3 bank managers, 8 police personnel and 4 lawyers.

RASİM OZAN KÜTAHYALI IS AMONG THE THOSE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY

Many people were detained during the operation. It was learned that journalist Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı was among those detained and that he was detained at his home in Istanbul.

BILLIONS OF ASSETS WERE SEIZED

Within the scope of the investigation, court order and seizure measures were taken against 3 electronic money and payment institutions, 3 jewelers and 1 foreign exchange office operating in Adana. 221 immovable properties, 120 vehicles and 3 boats, which were considered to belong to suspicious persons and companies, were also seized. In addition, an access ban decision was imposed on a total of 8,500 illegal betting and gambling websites that were considered to be used to circulate criminal proceeds.

RASİM OZAN KÜTAHYALI’S FINANCIAL MOVEMENTS WERE DETECTED

Some of the financial movements of Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, one of the detained persons, were reflected in the report regarding the investigation carried out by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK). According to the report, it was determined that a total of 16 million 141 thousand 893 TL was inflowed into Kütahyalı’s bank account between 2022 and 2024, and 1 million 472 thousand 582 TL was outflowed from the account in the same period. In addition, in the examinations carried out through electronic money institutions; It was evaluated that a total of 35 million 201 thousand 344 TL was entered into Kütahyalı’s account in the same period from six different payment institutions: Sipay, Fzpay, Paladyum, Elekse, Birleşim Payment and Faturamatik.

PROMINENT SUSPECTS IN THE OPERATION

The prominent names in the operation based in Adana are as follows:

1.Selahattin Akın UZUN (Organization Leader)

2.⁠ ⁠Asmin Aisha PALA (Paladium-Pep Para-General Manager)

3. Zekeriya Başar ÖZBİLEN (Paladyum-Pep Para- Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors)

4.⁠ ⁠Mehmet SADİOĞLU (Paladyum-Pep Para-Board Member)

5.⁠ ⁠Tolgahan KAPANCI (Paladyum-Pep Para-Compliance and Risk Manager)

6.⁠Deniz USULOĞLU (Paladyum-PPE Money-Finance Deputy General Manager)

7. ⁠Özlem OKTAREŞKARA SEFER (Paladyum Sales and Operations Deputy General Manager)

8.⁠ ⁠Sadık GENÇ (Former Owner of CMT-BSM Payment Institution)

9.⁠ ⁠Buğra SÖNMEZ (Former Visa Manager)

10.⁠ ⁠Aykut MASTERS (No Current Registration)

11.⁠ ⁠Sadullah AYDIN ​​(No Current Records)

12.⁠ ⁠Ferhat ALTUNKAYNAK (CRYPDOOME CRYPTO- Internal Auditor)

13.⁠ ⁠Soner GÜLECİ (Bank Employee)

14.⁠ ⁠Emrullah GÜVEN (Jewellery)

15.⁠ ⁠Hayrullah GÜVEN (Jewellers)

16.⁠ ⁠Tahir BAKIRCI(BEREKET TBEMLAK BİLİŞİM TEKNOLOJİLERİ TİCARET LTD. ŞTİ. OWNER)

17.⁠ ⁠Ertuğrul KOÇAK (TÜRKİYE İş Bankası – BANK MANAGER)

18.⁠ ⁠Engin YALÇIN (TÜRKİYE İş Bankası)

19. ⁠İbrahim SIRMA (Lecturer)

20.⁠ ⁠Rasim Ozan KÜTAHYALI(Author-Journalist)

21.⁠ ⁠Kemal Oğuz PALA(50% SHARE PARTNER OF PALLADAUM PAYMENT CORPORATION)

22. Çayan ZENGİN (Lawyer Adana Bar Association)

23. Taylan Perver ALONE (Lawyer Adana Bar Association)

24. GÜNAY UZUN (Lawyer Adana Bar Association) Inactive – Fugitive

25. Mehmet Emin UZUN (Lawyer Adana Bar Association) Inactive – Fugitive

26.⁠ ⁠Yusuf OĞUZ (EXPORT POLICE OFFICER)

27. ⁠Fatih SEVGİLİ (POLICE OFFICER-ADANA SUPPORT SERVICE DEPARTMENT)

28.⁠ ⁠Hamdi BALOĞLU (EXPORT POLICE OFFICER)

29.⁠ ⁠Mustafa Ali YILDIRIM(COMMISSIONER- DENİZLİ PAMUKKALE SEVİNDİK PMA.)

30.⁠ ⁠Emin ELMAS(POLICE OFFICER-MANİSA-YUNUS EMRE ORGANIZED INDUSTRIAL ZONE PMA.)

31.⁠Murat KALA (POLICE OFFICER-ADANA SEYHAN PATROL TEAMS A.)

32. ⁠ÖZHAN KARGAOĞLU (RETIRED POLICE OFFICER)

33.⁠ ⁠TAMER AKKUŞ (POLICE OFFICER- ADANA TEM Branch)

“WE WILL NEVER COMPROMISE”

Making a statement about the operation, Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek said, “The determined stance of our Ministries of Justice, Internal Affairs, Treasury and Finance, shoulder to shoulder and in great coordination, is the clearest indication that we will never compromise against financial criminal organizations and illegal betting networks. I would like to thank our Adana Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and Adana Provincial Police Department for this operation carried out with patience and great care. We will continue our fight against all kinds of criminal structures targeting the sweat and future of our citizens with the same unshakable will.”

“WE ALSO COMPREHENSIVELY EVALUATED REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ISSUES”

Reminding that they will attend the Unofficial Summit of Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States (TDT) to be held tomorrow in Turkestan, the spiritual capital of the Turkish world, Erdogan continued as follows:

“I would like to state that we are grateful for the valuable contributions of Kazakhstan to the integration of the Turkish World from the very beginning. We are pleased that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will be represented as an observer at our summit tomorrow. Today, we also comprehensively evaluated regional and international issues with Mr. President. I would like to thank my dear brother, President Mr. Tokayev and his delegation, once again, for the exceptional hospitality they have shown. With these thoughts, I hope our Council meeting will be beneficial. Kazakh “I send my wishes for health, well-being and prosperity to our brothers and sisters.”

President Erdoğan concluded his speech with the words “köp mercy”, which means “much mercy” in Kazakh.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was presented with the “Khoja Ahmet Yesevi Order” by Kazakhstan President Kasım Cömert Tokayev. Erdoğan and Tokayev had a private meeting at the Independence Palace and attended the Sixth Meeting of the Türkiye-Kazakhstan High Level Strategic Cooperation Council.

After the meeting, Tokayev bestowed the “Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Order” on Erdoğan. In his speech at the ceremony, Erdoğan stated that he was very pleased that the distinguished medal created in the name of Hodja Ahmet Yesevi was presented to him for the first time and said:

“I see and accept this engagement as a high favor to the Republic of Turkey and our nation. On this occasion, I would like to thank you, my dear brother, for the leadership you have shown in reaching the current level of brotherhood between our countries. May God perpetuate our brotherhood and love.”

On the other hand, the two leaders opened the “Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Primary School”, which was built by Kazakhstan in the Nurdağı district of Gaziantep after the February 6 earthquakes.

ERDOĞAN WAS THE FIRST ENGAGEMENT GRANTED NAME

“Khoja Ahmet Yesevi Order” was announced by Kazakhstan President Tokayev in a statement made on April 10, 2026.

At today’s ceremony, Erdoğan became the first person to be presented with the “Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Order”.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continues his contacts in Kazakhstan, where he came after a two-year break. President Erdoğan was welcomed with an official ceremony by the President of Kazakhstan Kasım Cömert Tokayev at the Independence Palace in the capital Astana, where he came to attend the Unofficial Summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States (TDT). At the ceremony, after President Erdoğan greeted the welcoming guard, the national anthems of the two countries were read. President Erdoğan and Kazakhstan President Tokayev had a bilateral meeting after the official ceremony.

SIXTH MEETING OF THE HIGH-LEVEL STRATEGIC COOPERATION COUNCIL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was welcomed by Kazakhstan President Kasım Cömert Tokayev with an official ceremony at the Independence Palace. After his one-on-one meeting with Tokayev, Erdoğan chaired the Sixth Meeting of the Türkiye-Kazakhstan High Level Strategic Cooperation Council.

President Erdoğan’s statements are as follows:

I congratulate the brotherly Kazakh people on the occasion of Defenders of the Homeland Day and Victory Day, which you have recently observed. I sincerely hope that the new constitution, which received great support from the public in the referendum on March 15, will bring good things to Kazakhstan.

EMPHASIS ON THE TURKISH WORLD CENTURY

Türkiye-Kazakhstan relations continue to progress in all areas within the framework of an enhanced strategic partnership. During our meeting with my dear brother, we had a productive exchange of views on many issues, from trade to energy, from defense industry cooperation to transportation and global issues. We agree with my dear brother on providing opportunities that will strengthen our organization institutionally.

I hope we will make the next period the century of the Turkish World.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Director of Communications Burhanettin Duran, AK Party Deputy Chairman Kürşat Zorlu and Binali Yıldırım also took part in the meeting.