G20

The 10th meeting of the Leaders of the Group of 20, which is the premier platform for solving global economic problems and brings together the 19 biggest economies in the world and the EU, was held in Antalya on November 15-16. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was both the host and a participant in the Summit, held bilateral meetings with Prime Ministers and Presidents of many countries. Also attending working luncheons and dinners, President Erdoğan voiced Turkey’s approach towards regional and global matters. On the last day of the Summit, President Erdoğan declared the communique of the Summit, emphasizing global cooperation in the struggle against terror.

“WE SHOULD STRUGGLE AGAINST ALL TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION”

Declaring that they were ready to contribute anyway they can to the international cooperation against terror, President Erdoğan said: “Sincere international cooperation and solidarity is a must in this struggle. This communique, adopted by the G20 leaders, is of significance to demonstrating our determined stance against terror. Terrorism has no faith, origin or region. It is extremely wrong to associate terrorism with any religion. It is also the greatest insult to the followers of that religion because life is sacred in all religions. We, inspired by our history, express this as “Let the people live so that the state will live”. We should struggle against all terrorist organizations without discrimination. In our eyes, any country, making a distinction among these organizations, are in grave mistake. We will continue to struggle with determination against all terrorist organizations including Daesh, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, PKK, PYD, YPG, DHKP-C. Decisive steps should be taken in the international arena to ensure efficient cooperation in the struggle against terrorist organizations.”

“ASSAD, WHO HAS BEEN SLAUGHTERING HIS OWN PEOPLE, HAS NO PLACE IN THE FUTURE OF SYRIA”

“Assad, who has been slaughtering his own people, has no place in the future of Syria. Assad has long lost his chance. Keep in mind that Syrian refugees are fleeing from Daesh and the state terror, implemented by the Assad regime. As the G20 countries, we declared that we would exert more efforts to help those refugees, the total population of whom is higher than many European countries”, expressing that linking the refugee problem with the issue of terrorism was evading humanitarian responsibility.

“IT IS TIME TO IMPLEMENT”

Expressing that they agreed on efficiently implementing growth strategies, President Erdoğan recalled that Turkey, as the G20 President, said ‘It is time to implement, not talk’, and he stated: “In the Antalya Action Plan, adopted by the leaders, you can find updated growth strategies, implementation schedules and the accountability report, drafted this year for the first time.”

“G20 IS NOT A CLUB OF THE RICH”

“The G20 is not a club of the rich. We represent not only the nations that achieved a certain level of prosperity but also the countries that continue their efforts to develop,” President Erdoğan said and he further stated: “As the representatives of the leading and emerging economies of the world, we also understand the situation of the low income and developing countries. Therefore, we should have something to say about that. In this understanding, we agreed to restructure the G20’s agenda on development to support the ‘2023 Agenda for Sustainable Development’. As a country that built its cultural and civilizational values on justice, we will continue to persistently defend the principle of inclusiveness.”