President Erdoğan addresses contractors: 'We will hopefully see the abundance of the last 13.5 years in full'

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan drew attention to the "opportunities" of the new era in Syria during his speech to contractors. Stating that a major reconstruction process will begin in the country, Erdoğan said, "We will hopefully see the abundance of our embrace of our brothers for 13.5 years, and our principled, honorable, and conscientious stance in global politics, in full."

Touching upon recent developments in Syria, Erdoğan said, "We find the implementation of the ceasefire and full integration agreement to be very important. A major mistake was made in Syria by not complying with the March 10 Agreement. Another error was committed by leaving the January 4 talks inconclusive. We find the implementation of the ceasefire and full integration agreement to be very important." 

The AKP Chairman and President stated, "A great mobilization for construction and revival will begin throughout Syria. As Syria achieves stability and security, all neighboring countries, especially us, will directly feel the positive effects of this." 

Highlights from Erdoğan's remarks are as follows:

I congratulate our firms, to whom we will present our awards shortly, and thank them for making our country proud. Our international contracting and technical consultancy sector continues to make Turkey's name known, shine, and rise through its projects all over the world. Turkish contractors are also carrying our strong engineering expertise, work culture, and reliability to different countries. Turkish construction companies have succeeded in becoming among the most prestigious firms in the world with the projects they have carried out abroad in recent years. The work discipline, exemplary business ethics, and quality understanding of our firms have made our companies sought-after business partners on a global scale.

WE HAVE SECURED OVER 557 BILLION DOLLARS IN CONTRACTS

The international activities of the Turkish construction sector, which began in 1972, have reached a level that makes us all proud today by racing from success to success over the past 54 years. So far, we have secured over 557 billion dollars in work across 12,816 projects in 138 countries, with 90 percent of this occurring during our terms in office. We are maintaining this momentum we have captured with determination, despite the negatives in the global economy. The list of the world's 250 largest international contracting firms has once again certified the success of the Turkish contracting sector. We became second in the world in terms of the number of firms on the list. While we had 43 firms on the list the previous year, we were represented by 45 firms on the same list this year. Another striking figure is this: 8 Turkish firms entered the top 100, and two of them were in the top 50. In the 2025 list where ENR magazine ranks the top 225 design and engineering companies, 8 of our companies were included again this year, and our country rose one spot compared to last year to rank 6th in the world in terms of the number of companies. I congratulate our technical consultancy firms and our sector from the bottom of my heart, and I would like to express here especially that we expect many more successes from you that will make us proud.

INFLATION IS AT ITS LOWEST LEVEL IN THE LAST 49 YEARS

I would like to state with great pride here that at a time when conventions in global trade, diplomacy, and security are being broken, the Turkish economy has displayed a remarkable performance. The year 2025 has been a year in which we have largely achieved our economic goals, restored balances, made significant gains in the fight against inflation, and, in particular, broken records in exports and tourism. Inflation has fallen to its lowest level in the last 49 months. The increase in our Central Bank reserves continues in the same manner. For the first time in our history, our bank's reserves have exceeded the 200 billion dollar mark. We have increased the reserves, which we took over at only 27.5 billion dollars in 2002, to 205 billion 177 million dollars as of last week. We see the same picture in employment. Our seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has maintained its single-digit trend for the last 31 months. We are witnessing the positive effects of our growth strategy focused on investment, production, employment, and exports in many areas.

WE WILL SEE THE ABUNDANCE OF THE LAST 13.5 YEARS IN FULL MEASURE

We have embarked on long journeys with you, crossed continents, landed in places never before stepped upon, and effectively made a mark on our world so that Turkey can grow stronger in every field from economy to trade. We are now entering a period where we will reap the fruits of our labor, efforts, sacrifices, and patience in many areas. New doors are opening before Turkey, and new windows of opportunity are being unlatched. Look, I state this with sincerity and emphasis: We will hopefully see the abundance of our support for the oppressed in Gaza, our embracing of our brothers in Syria for 13.5 years, and our principled, honorable, and conscientious stance in global politics in full measure.

A GREAT CONSTRUCTION MOBILIZATION WILL BEGIN

As Syria achieves stability and security, all neighboring countries, especially us, will directly feel the positive effects; trade will accelerate, investments will increase, and tourism will develop. Hopefully, a great mobilization for construction and revival will begin throughout Syria, especially in the settlements that the former regime turned into rubble with barrel bombs. As the effects of the oppression that cost the lives of nearly one million Syrians are erased, and as Syria heals its wounds and stands back up with Turkey's support, very different winds will blow in our region; we can already see the signs of this. Just one year after the December 8 revolution, steps that were previously unimaginable have been taken in Syria. The Syrian economy has begun the process of integrating into the international system. Millions of Syrian refugees, six hundred thousand of whom were from our country, have returned to their homelands. Promising developments are also taking place in the social and political spheres. We are very pleased to see that the fundamental rights of our Kurdish brothers, who were not even considered citizens under the Assad regime, have been guaranteed by the latest decree issued by President Shara.

News Source: 12punto