TURKEY: EMERGING DONOR COUNTRY
Turkish Daily News
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Turkey
At the outset, I wish to extend our sincere congratulations to
Mr. D’escoto Brockmann on his election as president of the 63rd General
Assembly. Taking this opportunity, I would also like to pay tribute
to the president of the 62nd General Assembly, Mr. Srgjan Kerim,
for his able leadership during the past term.
For Turkey, the U.N. Charter reflects the common aspirations and
conscience of humanity. The United Nations provides a political and
moral compass for our endeavors towards a just international order:
a better order that will prevent new conflicts, ensure that human
rights are upheld and make the distribution of prosperity more
equitable and sustainable.
In this framework, we believe that the most pressing need before
the international community is to bridge, as quickly as possible,
the enormous gap between the wealthiest and the least fortunate. We
have certainly made considerable progress in this direction, including
towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals. However, our common
fight against poverty, illiteracy, epidemic diseases, child mortality
and climate change is still far from over.
On the contrary, volatile fuel prices, the food crisis and the
global economic slowdown have brought about an even more challenging
development and security environment. Under such circumstances,
combating terrorism, racism, xenophobia, and all forms of religious
discrimination and extremism takes on particular importance.
Exerting maximum vigilance
We must indeed exert maximum vigilance against the risk of further
alienation between different cultures and religions. In that respect,
we regard the Alliance of Civilizations initiative that we have
co-sponsored with Spain under the auspices of the U.N. secretary
general as an important instrument that can help us avoid such a
dangerous track.
Turkey will continue to be a leading country in further advancing
the goals of this initiative which enjoys worldwide backing including
from the European Union and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
We hope that the Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilizations,
which now consists of 14 international organizations and 76 countries
representing different regions ranging from Latin America to Africa
and Asia, will keep growing. In this vein, we look forward to hosting
the second forum meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations in Istanbul
next April.
As I said, a top-priority issue on our agenda is the need to address
the problems of the developing world. There is no question that these
countries should get all the assistance they need on their path to
sustainable development.
They must be supported within the framework of a renewed global
development agenda and through increased foreign investments and
enhanced trade facilities.
For its part, Turkey is trying to contribute to this endeavor, first
and foremost through increased development assistance.
Turkey: emerging donor country
Turkey also provides special facilities for development, health,
education and agricultural projects in various parts of the world. As
a result of those fast growing aid programs, Turkey is now recognized
as an "emerging donor country" by the international community.
The U.N. Ministerial Conference of the Least Developed Countries,
which Turkey hosted in Istanbul last year, has clearly demonstrated
our commitment to humanitarian and development assistance. We have now
offered to host the LDC IV. Similarly, the first-ever Turkey-Africa
Cooperation Summit held in Istanbul last month provided an important
opportunity to explore new avenues of cooperation with the continent.
Turkey is also committed to combating global warming, which has serious
implications for the entire world but more so for the developing
countries. With this conviction, we are taking active part in the
negotiations that will shape our new global climate change agreement
to replace the Kyoto Protocol.
Turkey also pays special attention to the water crisis in the world. In
this regard, we hope that the fifth World Water Forum, which we will
host in Istanbul next March, will inspire new thinking and concrete
action on this important question.
Facilitator of dialogue
If I may now turn to the political issues facing our region, I am
pleased to say that Turkey has been actively contributing to the
advancement of peace as a facilitator of dialogue. We have also been
working hard to build a sense of co-ownership of regional issues among
our neighbors through a series of regional cooperation initiatives.
Encouraged by its strong regional ties, Turkey has launched another
initiative designed to prevent further conflicts in the recently
traumatized South Caucasus. In this regard, I believe that the
Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform proposed by Turkey could
be an instrumental framework for building a climate of confidence
in the region that will allow discussion of our common problems in
a democratic setting.
Based on our impressions from my visits to our neighbors Armenia
and Azerbaijan and those of Prime Minister Erdogan to the Russian
Federation and Georgia, all parties concerned seem receptive to the
idea and we hope they will give it a chance to work.
I sincerely believe that a positive perspective thus created will
contribute to the resolution of the frozen conflicts, including the
occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region, on the basis of respect for the
principle of territorial integrity. No doubt, such a perspective
will also help improve the bilateral ties between the countries of
the region. It is also well past time to settle the conflicts of the
Middle East, at the core of which lies the Palestinian question.
Turkey actively supports all endeavors to bring about a lasting
solution to this central problem and alleviate the plight of the
Palestinian people. Turkey is also making every effort to help advance
the Syrian and Lebanese tracks. One recent example is the indirect
peace talks that Syria and Israel started under Turkey’s auspices
last May in Istanbul.
Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan
In Iraq, too, Turkey stands firmly with the Iraqi people and
government. Besides our bilateral efforts, I am particularly pleased
to see that the Neighboring Countries Process, which I had initiated
five years ago, is functioning well.
For the international community’s efforts to succeed, Iraqi people
need to settle their differences through dialogue and compromise on
controversial issues, among them the final status of Kirkuk.
Afghanistan is another country where Turkey invests heavily in the
future of a nation, with which we have special historical ties. Turkey
will continue to contribute to the security of the Afghan people and to
their reconstruction efforts. We will also continue our initiatives to
create an atmosphere conducive to regional ownership and cooperation,
in particular between Pakistan and Afghanistan. That is equally vital
for the common struggle against terrorism and for the stability of
the region.
Finally, an urgent and peaceful settlement of the question of Iran’s
nuclear program in conformity with IAEA norms and NPT obligations,
respecting the right to peaceful use of nuclear energy, remains high
on Turkey’s active diplomatic agenda.
I am convinced that would-be solutions to individual conflicts in
the Middle East could be sustainable only if we adopt a comprehensive
approach based on a positive vision for the future.
That is why I invite all the parties to give serious consideration
to the long-standing idea of collective arrangements for conflict
prevention and resolution which would promote regional security and
stability by building confidence, facilitating political dialogue
and encouraging economic and cultural cooperation in the Middle East.
Full support to Cyprus talks
Turkey gives full backing to diplomatic efforts for a political
settlement in Cyprus. The solution lies at the establishment of
a new partnership state composed of two constituent states of
equal status. The process towards this goal should be based on the
U.N. parameters of bi-zonality and political equality of the two sides.
We welcome and firmly support the comprehensive settlement negotiations
recently started between the two leaders under the good offices of
the U.N. secretary general. At the same time, I believe that it is
long overdue to end the unfair isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, who
voted courageously in favor of the U.N. Comprehensive Settlement Plan
in 2004, the plan that was unfortunately rejected by the other side.
Before concluding, I would like to stress the indispensable nature of
the United Nations in resolving all these matters. Indeed, without an
effective and functional world body, it is impossible to realize the
hopes and expectations of our nations. This is why we attach utmost
importance to reforming and further strengthening the U.N. system
as a whole. This is also why Turkey is constantly stepping up its
engagement in and contributions to all aspects of the U.N. agenda,
ranging from development and peacekeeping to human rights.
Turkey’s bid for the UN seat
It is also with this sense of responsibility that Turkey has decided
to put forth its candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the Security
Council for 2009-2010. Turkey has not been represented on the council
for nearly half a century and we believe that the main tenets of
our foreign policy, together with our economic, social and cultural
attributes, will allow us to bring an added value to its work.
I hope that the General Assembly, with its valuable support, will do
us the honor of granting Turkey the opportunity to do so.
* Mr. Abdullah Gul is the president of the Republic of Turkey. He
addressed to the 63rd General Assembly of the United Nations on
Wednesday.