Erdoğan emphasizes 'Civilian Constitution': 'We owe a new civilian constitution to our nation'

President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made statements regarding the agenda at the 'International Contracting Services Success Awards Ceremony'.

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Erdoğan emphasizes 'Civilian Constitution': 'We owe a new civilian constitution to our nation'

President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the "International Contracting Services Success Awards Ceremony".

Highlights from Erdoğan's statements are as follows:

"I congratulate our companies and their representatives who received success awards. Contracting is among Turkey's strongest sectors. We have 8 firms on the list of the world's 225 largest technical consultancy firms. We are in 2nd place in terms of the number of firms after the People's Republic of China. We take pride in you for representing us in a manner worthy of our country's size and international position.

INFLATION WILL TAKE A LITTLE MORE TIME

With the coronavirus pandemic, we see that the balances in the global economy have not yet settled into place. It is understood that inflation will take a little more time. We are facing new conflicts in many regions. Israel is escalating tensions. We are aware that all of this is pushing countries toward protectionism and extreme caution regarding new investments. Many countries in Europe are lowering their growth rates.

LABELED AS WASTE

Until today, every step we have taken toward the development of the construction sector has been labeled as 'waste'. The success our contracting firms have achieved abroad has been ignored. Not a single word of appreciation has been uttered regarding the massive works carried out in every field. If they knew a little bit about economics, they could understand how critical the construction sector is. In our country alone, 6 million people earn their living directly or indirectly from this sector. We have a say in the world in contracting. Our success in the sector shows the strength of our economy.

Over a 52-year period, our firms have undertaken 12 thousand 777 projects worth 515 billion dollars in 137 countries. We broke records in this field with project values of 30-32 billion in 2012, 2013, and 2021. While the average project value was 20 million dollars at the beginning of the 2000s, this figure rose to around 60 million dollars by the beginning of 2020. Predictions about the future of the sector increase our hopes in this regard.

YOUR SUCCESS IS OUR COUNTRY'S SUCCESS

Your success is our country's success. With your achievements abroad, you contribute not only to our economy but also to our country's reputation. We strive to stand by you in every matter. We will continue to stand by you from now on as well.

In the last 22 years, we have taken revolutionary steps in a wide range of areas from the economy to foreign policy, and we continue to do so. Turkish foreign policy had an inward-looking character for many years. The understanding of 'let's not take risks, let's not alarm anyone' condemned Turkey to the sidelines for many years, even in matters concerning its own immediate geography. Since 2002, we have undergone a radical paradigm shift in our foreign policy. We have strengthened our relations with our neighbors through different mechanisms.

In 2002, our exports were 36 billion dollars. We increased this 7-fold to 256 billion dollars. So much so that today there is no country where Turkish products have not entered. In tourism, we reached the figure of 56.7 million tourists from 13 million. Our economy grew by 5.4 percent. Our national income exceeded 1.1 trillion dollars for the first time in our history. We have started talking in trillions. Where have we come from and where are we now? We have approached the 270 billion dollar limit in international investments.

''A CIVILIAN CONSTITUTION IS OUR DEBT TO OUR NATION''

A new, civilian constitution is our debt to our nation. We all know that a constitution born from a coup does not suit Turkish democracy. We want to bring our nation together with a new, civilian, and inclusive constitution. We have also expressed our red lines many times. Of course, the expression of thought cannot be prevented in democratic politics. Even if we do not agree or find it correct, we have to approach different ideas with tolerance. We have been careful to maintain this line until today. However, we think that maximalist rhetoric, instead of contributing to constitutional discussions, will actually hinder them. I underline it again; there is no discussion for us regarding the first 4 articles of the constitution. Especially the People's Alliance (Cumhur İttifakı) has no such trouble, no such concern. Our party's stance, attitude, and approach on this issue are very clear. We desire to manage the new constitution process with the broadest possible social consensus and bring it to a successful conclusion. We want to save our nation from the coup constitution as soon as possible and pave the way for Turkey. We believe that the political institution should also approach the new constitution process with a constructive and moderate constitutional understanding.

News Source: 12punto