President Erdoğan: MIT is the guarantor of Turkey's security

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, National Intelligence Organization delivered a speech at the 97th Anniversary events.

Erdoğan stated the following:

"I am very pleased to be together with you, the esteemed members of our National Intelligence Organization. Four years ago, we came together with you on the occasion of the opening of our Kale campus. I wish for our Kale campus, which adds strength to our organization while demonstrating its expanding vision, to be auspicious once again. We have just inaugurated our museum, which sheds light on the glorious history of our institution. I sincerely congratulate everyone who contributed to bringing our museum, designed around the concepts of homeland, tradition, and future, to our organization."

We are experiencing the pride of reaching the 97th anniversary of our National Intelligence Organization. I wholeheartedly congratulate the 97th anniversary of our organization. I wish God's mercy upon our martyrs who lost their lives during their duties, and health and well-being to our members who have been honored with veteran status. May the Lord bless the souls of our martyrs and grant them paradise. I thank all the distinguished members of our organization who serve for Turkey in all 81 provinces of our country and in every corner of the world.

At the very beginning of my words, I would like to express one point sincerely. With the appreciation of our beloved nation, we have been in the service of Turkey since 2002. During our Prime Ministry and Presidency duties, which have now exceeded 21 years, we have always worked in close cooperation with you. In the last 21 years, we have experienced critical days that were a matter of life and death. We have overcome many troubles, been exposed to many attacks, and have come through many difficulties and obstacles with our heads held high. Throughout all these processes, I have personally witnessed not only the efforts, courage, and patriotism of our MIT members but also their high sense of duty, intellectual accumulation, and analytical capabilities.

We have worked shoulder to shoulder with many of our brothers and sisters who would gladly and without hesitation give their lives for their state when necessary. Therefore, I personally know very well the dedication with which the secret heroes of our National Intelligence Organization perform their duties. I congratulate our MIT personnel here, each and every one of them, who serve by sacrificing their families, their loved ones, and sometimes their own health. I pray that no harm ever comes to any of you.

Turkey is located in a region that is at the very center of global power competition, economically, politically, and militarily. The vast majority of crises occupying humanity's agenda are taking place in our country's immediate vicinity. While our surroundings are practically encircled by a ring of fire, we are striving to both grow our country and ensure the security of our state. In this period of increasing uncertainty, our country is making a name for itself with its successes in the economic, military, diplomatic, and intelligence fields. At this stage, almost everyone accepts this reality.

Turkey is consolidating its position as an influential power and a game-maker on the global chessboard day by day. Thank God, our claim of a strong Turkey at the table and in the field is now becoming a reality with all its elements. Look, it is not just us saying this; many of our counterparts on different continents of the world, from Europe to Asia, from Africa to America, are also expressing this reality. Recently, many news reports, articles, and books have been published regarding our country's increasing presence in global politics, some stemming from hostility, some from admiration, and some entirely from envy. Both those who follow the steps our country takes and those who compare the Turkey of today with the pre-2002 era already see the difference very well. The picture before us is this: contrary to the claims of some, there has been no axis shift in our country; on the contrary, after long searches, our country has found its true axis. And the name of this axis is the Turkey axis.

We do not act with the concern of 'what will others say' as we did in the past. We determine every decision we make and every policy we implement in domestic and foreign politics entirely based on the Turkey axis. Whatever our nation's interests require, whatever Turkey needs, we are in pursuit of doing it without looking at what anyone says. With the right steps at the right time, we courageously defend our nation's interests in both the diplomatic and military fields. Our military operations towards northern Syria are a clear example of this. Our ongoing Claw operations in northern Iraq are an example of this. The liberation of Karabakh together with our Azerbaijani brothers after nearly 30 years of occupation is one of these. The support we provide to the legitimate government of Libya, with whom we have ancient ties, is one of these. The strong will we have demonstrated in protecting our Blue Homeland from the Aegean to the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean is one of these.

It is possible to multiply the number of these examples. Just as no success is coincidental, none of the gains our country has achieved in different fields have been a matter of coincidence. In all these successes, there is the labor, struggle, and sweat of our army, our police, our foreign service, and our other institutions, primarily our National Intelligence Organization. The coordination and cooperation of our security institutions have brought our nation these historic successes. I congratulate all our institutions in your person.

With the Russia-Ukraine war, the pieces in the world have been reshuffled. In this new era, geopolitics has begun to come to the fore more and more. We also see that radical changes are taking place in security concepts during this process. For example, states that viewed defense spending as waste and a burden on the public budget just 5-10 years ago have entered into an arms race in the last 1-2 years. There are even those among us who, until yesterday, talked about narrowing the scope of duty for security units. All of these are now granting unlimited powers to security institutions. Both in the West and here. The number of security and military cooperation agreements signed between countries is increasing every day. Thank God, Turkey is one of the countries that recognized these risks very early and started investing in its defense capacity very early.  

All those who criticized us in the past now appreciate our country. Our defense industry moves, where UAVs and UCAVs are the symbols, are being followed with admiration all over the world. The defense industry, which we were 80 percent dependent on from abroad for a period, has today become our country's export item with the highest added value. We broke a record in the history of the republic by making 5.5 billion dollars in defense exports in 2023. Our unmanned combat aircraft ANKA-3 successfully completed its first flight. Tests for KIZILELMA, which will have a multiplier effect in this field, are continuing. As the range of domestic and national products of our defense industry expands, the means, capacity, and capability of our MIT presidency, along with our army and police, are also strengthening. We can see the positive results of this very clearly, especially in our fight against terrorist organizations. Our MIT presidency is at the forefront of our institutions that effectively use unmanned aerial vehicles. 

Our organization, which uncovered Israel's espionage network in our country, has given our answer to those who threaten us very clearly.

Details are coming...