Same Signature In Different Geographies

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurates five projects completed by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) in a ceremony themed “Same Signature in Different Geographies” held at ATO Congresium, Ankara, Turkey.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan honored the ceremony “Same Signature in Different Geographies” held at ATO Congresium to inaugurate joint projects completed by TIKA. Further participating in the ceremony were Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of National Education Nabi Avcı, Minister of Development Cevdet Yılmaz, Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekçi, Minister of Health Mehmet Müezzinoğlu, Minister of Interior Efkan Ala, Minister of Youth and Sports Çağatay Kılıç, Minister of Forestry and Water Affairs Bakanı Veysel Eroğlu, TIKA President Dr. Serdar Çam, TIKA officials and representatives of many entities.

Commencing his speech on a note of appreciation to TIKA for grand projects undertaken on the five continents, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan thanked individually all TIKA staff deployed across the world for their labor, enthusiasm, and notable works created. Prime Minister Erdoğan said: “On this day of utmost significance, I thank, on behalf of myself and my nation, all representatives of brotherly countries who share our excitement, and through them, salute with deepest affection the peoples of all brotherly countries.”

Assistance to Bosnia-Herzegovina
Noting that Turkey, while grieving her sons in the mining tragedy, was further grieved on the news of enormous disasters that struck other countries, Prime Minister Erdoğan stated that “Heavy rains unprecedented for 120 years caused a catastrophic deluge over many human settlements and agricultural land in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia.” Erdoğan informed that he conversed with Bakir Izzetbegovic, Bosniak member of the Tripartite Presidential Council, received and immediately met Mr. Izzetbegovic’s requests.

Prime Minister Erdoğan continued his words: “I spoke to him again. I learned that the relief got to them. Whatever more is needed and requested, we continue God willing to deliver through our agencies such as AFAD, Red Crescent. Our teams are there. TIKA has already been there since the very beginning and delivering assistance.”

“A meaningful inauguration befitting the memory of Ghazi Mustafa Kemal”
Emphasizing that they were inaugurating 5 projects in 5 countries on a day of utmost meaning, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: “Yes, today is 19th May. It is the 95th anniversary of Ghazi Mustafa Kemal’s landing in Samsun in 1919; we are celebrating the event of historic importance when he lit the torch of National War for Independence. I congratulate the Youth and Sports Day of all our youths across Turkey. We commemorate Ghazi Mustafa Kemal with gratitude. On this occasion, we also commemorate all our martyrs, all war veterans who passed to the eternity, with our gratitude and asking God’s grace upon them. When inquired of his birth day, Ghazi Mustafa Kemal responded “19th May”. Yes, in his own words, in the birth anniversary of Ghazi Mustafa Kemal; we are making a meaningful inauguration befitting his memory. TIKA has, in cooperation with ministers of Macedonia, located the site of the home of Ali Riza Effendi, Ghazi Mustafa Kemal’s father. We already commissioned a design of this home to be rebuilt to the original in Kodjadjik village of Jupa municipality, Macedonia. The works started in 2011. We restored the home to the original just as we did the home in Salonika. We completed these two homes of commemoration. Today, we are inaugurating these homes to visitors. Those who visit Kodjadjik village can now visit Ali Riza Effendi’s home, relive the history, and breathe the climate of Ghazi Mustafa Kemal’s father and ancestors in the museum home. On this 95th anniversary of 19th May, on Ghazi’s own birthday, we all the nation are proud of rebuilding this meaningful work. I wish these two homes of commemoration be auspicious for Turkey, for Macedonia and the history of mankind.”

Prime Minister Erdoğan remarked that another TIKA project being inaugurated was in Palestine; a modern girls middle school built by TIKA in Al-Birah, Ramallah in the West Bank. Noting that the school consisted of 14 classrooms on 4 stories for 450 Palestinian students, Erdoğan wished the school be auspicious for Paletinians. He added that AKP Çorum Deputy Murat Yıldırım was in Al-Birah, Ramallah for the inauguration ceremony.

Point out another project in Georgia, Prime Minister Erdoğan stated that TIKA, in cooperation with the Georgian Ministries of Labor and Economy and Tbilisi Municipality, renovated the Rehabilitation and Adaptation Center that contributed significantly to the education of children and youth with disabilities and prepared them for the future. AKP Bursa Deputy Hüseyin Şahin was on site in Georgia for the ceremony.

“Projects in the spirit of 19th May”
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan indicated that another project was completed in Somalia, adding that “during our visit to Somalia, we saw that urban roads were in disuse in Mogadishu, and I personally instructed that a project be designed for the roads. TIKA commenced works in October 2012 and built 23 kilometers of dual-way, well-illuminated roads giving Mogadishu a model urban road with social facilities. The project was at times interrupted due to security concerns, but finally finished against all difficulties, and now made available for use.”

Pointing that Mogadishu Airport was built as well, Prime Minister Erdoğan said AKP Afyonkarahisar Deputy Halil Ürün was on site in Mogadishu, and wished it be auspicious for the people of Somalia. Erdoğan remarked that the final project of the inauguration day was an important agricultural project in Tunisia which was also completed by TIKA.

Noting that Turkey has provided development and technical assistance for the reconstruction of Tunisia since 2012, Prime Minister Erdoğan said: “To date, we delivered 292 vehicles and 42,480 security items to the Tunisian Ministry of Interior. We also supplied 92 municipal service vehicles and 50 work machines for to contribute to municipal services. Finally, 13 work machines and 70 tractors were delivered to improve agriculture in Tunisia. Now, our Istanbul Deputy İbrahim Yiğit is on site in Tunisia. On this meaningful day, we deliver 5 important projects to 5 countries. Indeed, through the inaugurations, we are yet celebrating another 19th May befitting its spirit, substance and deep meaning. It is not only the restitution of the home of Ghazi Mustafa Kemal’s father, but all 5 projects perfectly fit with the spirit of 19th May. Many projects implemented by our many agencies, including particularly TIKA, are all in the spirit of 19th May.”

“We transferred funds of more than 1 billion TL to TIKA”
Underlining the matter once more, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: “When we came to power, Turkey was a recipient country prior to 2002; but we closed down that era through our growing economy, and graduated to a donor country. At this point in time, our annual assistance exceeded 2.5 billion USD, we achieved it. Why? Because we know that the giving hand is more auspicious than the receiving one. In the last 11 years, we transferred more than 1 billion TL of funds to merely TIKA. This represents an increase of 335 percent on the earlier times.”

Prime Minister Erdoğan informed that TIKA had since inception undertaken 15,000 projects of various sizes, 13,000 of which were initiated in the past 11 years. He noted that Turkey ranked top twice in a row for the increase in development assistance, and was in the top 5 in the world for the overall assistance. Noting that official and private assistance reached 3 billion USD in 2013, Erdoğan stated that “our agencies such as the Turkish Red Crescent, Yunus Emre Institute, Presidency of Turks Living Abroad and Relative Communities, TRT, Anatolian Agency, Presidency of Religious Affairs have outreached every remotest part of the world, whereas through TIKA we have been by the side of our friends and brothers in all fields from education to health, from constructing infrastructure to security.”

Further emphasizing that they built 148 schools, and repaired and furnished 164 schools in many countries from Kazakhstan to Macedonia, from Pakistan to Gambia, Prime Minister Erdoğan elaborated that “we cooperated with universities of 32 countries, opened 12 Departments of Turkish Language and Literature and 18 Turkish language centers. Further, we built 49 medical centers on the five continents. We claimed works of ancestral heritage from Mongolia to Ethiopia, we found and restored them. We gave them back to our national culture and to the history of mankind. We drilled water wells, supported agriculture. We provided vocational training. Provided support to administrative and civil structures. We have always strived, with all our means and efforts, to do what is required of a great country, a great nation.”

Prime Minister Erdoğan wished that the inaugurated projects would be auspicious to our brotherly countries and peoples, and said: “I express my thanks to TIKA, TIKA’s President and his team and all those who put in labor into these projects. Once again, I congratulate the 19th May Atatürk’s Commemoration and Youth and Sports Day, and present my gratitude to you all who have participated.”

Highly popular ceremony
Prime Minister Erdoğan was welcomed in the hall by applause and chants of slogans. At the start of the ceremony, a Macedonian youth voiced the Turkish National Anthem. Then a minute of silence was observed for the miners who lost their lives in the mining tragedy at Soma.

Following the Prime Minister’s opening remarks, live connections were established with Palestine, Georgia, Somalia, Tunisia and Macedonia to proceed with the individual inaugurations. Connected by video-conferencing on the site were Deputy Prime Minister Emrullah İşler in Macedonia, AKP Çorum Deputy Murat Yıldırım in Palestine, AKP Bursa Deputy Hüseyin Şahin in Georgia, AKP Afyonkarahisar Deputy Halil Ürün in Somalia and AKP Istanbul Deputy İbrahim Yiğit in Tunisia.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated through videoconferencing the completed projects, namely, Commemoration Home of Ali Riza Effendi, Atatürk’s father in Macedonia; Al-Birah Turkish School in Palestine, Mogadishu Friendship Road in Somalia; Agricultural Development in Tunisia; and AISI Rehabilitation and Adaptation Center in Georgia. During the videoconferencing with Somalia, Erdoğan reminded that the construction of Turkish Embassy building was underway on an area of 20 acres in Somalia, and Turkish entrepreneurs built airports and seaports, and exclaimed that: “That is, wherever someone is oppressed or victimized, Turkey is there.” Prime Minister Erdoğan also asked for God’s grace on the police officer Sinan Yılmaz who fell martyr in the line of duty in Somalia.

Atatürk’s family home
The home of Ali Riza Effendi in Macedonia was re-built to original in three years starting from 2011 by TIKA’s assistance and cooperation of Turkish and Macedonian Ministries of Culture.

The home in Kodjadjik village was redesigned to describe the life of Atatürk and his family. The setup included Kizil Hafiz Ahmet Effendi, father of Ali Riza Effendi; Ayse Hanim, mother of Ali Riza Effendi; child Mustafa and child Makbule; commemoration rooms for Ali Riza Effendi and Zübeyde Hanim, Atatürk’s mother; and the displays that reflect the young Mustafa Kemal’s days in the Balkans.

Other projects
TIKA built a 4-story, 14-classroom middle school for girls with capacity for 450 students in Al-Birah village of Ramallah in the West Bank, being the most advanced school in the region.

Mogadishu Friendship Road was built in Somalia, a dual-way 23-km long road with 736 lighting posts and social facilities.

Under the Agricultural Development Project, 13 backhoe loaders, 70 tractors and auxiliary agricultural equipment were shipped to the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture.

Point out another project in Georgia, Prime Minister Erdoğan stated that TIKA, in cooperation with the Georgian Ministries of Labor and Economy and Tbilisi Municipality, renovated the Rehabilitation and Adaptation Center that contributed significantly to the education of children and youth with disabilities and prepared them for the future. AKP Bursa Deputy Hüseyin Şahin was on site in Georgia for the ceremony.

The project titled “Path to Equality” in Georgia implemented through AISI Rehabilitation and Adaptation Center aims to prepare children with disabilities for special education in public schools, and build technical infrastructure for the youth for vocational education, and give them practical vocational training for employment of people with disabilities.