These innocent children, who have come from every part of the world to visit our country, come together with their peers from diverse cultures and languages and fuse with them, giving a boost to world peace from Anatolia. The finals of the 7th Turkish Language Olympiads will be held this weekend in Ankara with qualifying contests for different categories taking place in various cities in Turkey. Everyone will feel a sense of closeness in their hearts to this Turkish festival of peace. This is a magnificent picture that must be hailed by everyone. Let us celebrate this event wholeheartedly!The day before yesterday a major event that can be seen as a source of pride for the Turkish economy started when 2,300 businesses from 135 countries came together in İstanbul. The Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), which had formerly organized a number of international events, held this event that challenges the global crisis. This summit of the world's businessmen, inaugurated by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is aiming to provide opportunities for businessmen to strike deals amounting to a total of $7 billion. One can do nothing but applaud this event that invited worldwide investors to Turkey, hosted them in the best possible way and introduced new horizons despite the contraction in the domestic market while the century's greatest economic crisis is taking its toll. Kudos to TUSKON!
Several days ago, a very significant program was undertaken in northern Iraq. The oil extracted from Arbil will now be transferred to world markets via Turkey. The opening was performed by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Massoud Barzani, the leader of the de facto government in northern Iraq. The oil from northern Iraq will be transported via the Kirkuk-Yumurtalık oil pipeline in the amount of 100,000 barrels a day. One of the biggest investors in the region is a Turkish company, Genel Enerji. Its boss, Mehmet Emin Karamehmet, says that he will continue to invest in the region. Shouldn't we congratulate him? It is obvious that by selling oil to world markets, Iraq will create benefits both for itself and for Turkey. Moreover, it will be harder for terrorist organizations to insinuate themselves into the bilateral relations of two countries that are mutually dependent.
This is not restricted to civil society organizations or private companies in this country. The Turkish state, too, is exerting great efforts to play a more effective role in the international arena. For instance, anyone who seeks to strike a settlement in the Arab-Israeli conflict is now obliged to take Turkey into consideration. The countries which were our deadly enemies in the past are now promoting strategic partnerships or friendship with us. When our president made a request on behalf of a Turkish citizen who has been in jail for more than 20 years, Syrian President Bashar al Assad issued a special amnesty for him. Turkey is taking the initiative with respect to the Armenian issue on the one hand and is promoting its critical ties with Azerbaijan on the other. Those who assume an external stance with respect to Turkish-Azerbaijani relations may take things the wrong way, but the fraternity between the two countries will never be undermined. There are those who seek to sow seeds of hatred between them, but they will never achieve their goals. We fit together hand in glove and will never be separated from each other.
Recently, I had the occasion to listen to Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. He is not a statesman who is only focused on relations with our neighbors as some might think. He talked about the European Union for about an hour. There were people specialized in EU affairs around the table. I saw that they were particularly pleased to hear so many details from the foreign minister. Now, Turkey is a country that knows what it is doing. We are no longer a country who is always on the run trying to escape from some bad fate. There is now a new Turkey that focuses on the future with its state vision and which undertakes massive projects with its companies and civil society organizations...
Of course, we have problems, as well. Of course, the global crisis is taking its toll on us, too. However, we do not waste our energy on real problems, but on trivial and insignificant matters. We are afraid of our own reflection in the mirror. And unfortunately, there are those who are accustomed to acting as spoilsports when historic opportunities are opening new doors to us. But the picture is clear: if this country is not crushed under trivial matters, it will take flight toward a magnificent future.
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