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President Erdoğan's remarks regarding the Bilgi University he closed down become a hot topic: It brings wealth

Istanbul Bilgi University, founded as Turkey's fourth foundation university and managed by a trustee since September 2025 as part of Can Holding, which was seized by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), has been closed by a decision of President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan published in the Official Gazette. Erdoğan's remarks about the university from years ago have become a hot topic once again.

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The speech delivered by AKP Chairman and President Erdoğan in 2007 at the opening of the school's Santralİstanbul campus regarding the closure decision for Istanbul Bilgi University has become a hot topic.

Stating that Bilgi University would be good for the region, Erdoğan said in his speech, "The fact that this place has reached this state with Bilgi University, and that it has reached this state with those who supported it, brings a different kind of wealth to Istanbul. It will bring a different kind of wealth to our youth, and I believe that future generations will always remember those who contributed to this with gratitude."

Erdoğan had used the following expressions at the university's campus opening:

“People are the artists of yesterday and today. They are the cultural heritage of humanity. In this sense, Santral Istanbul is a project that gives us hope and excitement.

We are all watching with sadness the scene that those who see the world as consisting only of power relations and those who read life through power relations deem appropriate for humanity. And now this place, which I have known since my childhood because I am a child of this neighborhood. I know these places well.

“It will bring a different kind of wealth”

And now, the fact that this place has reached this state with Bilgi University, and that it has reached this state with those who supported it, brings a different kind of wealth to Istanbul. It will bring a different kind of wealth to our youth, and I believe that future generations will always remember those who contributed to this with gratitude. I see that in everything, there lies a beauty and integrity that will not disappoint our excitement and hope, and it continues within this integrity.”