Erdogan defines Turkey as "a secure island"

In his opening speech at a World Economic Forum meeting on Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia under the title of "Uniting Regions in Transformation" which was held in Istanbul yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he was pleased to see the WEF meeting taking place in Istanbul, thanking all those who made the forum possible in Istanbul. Defining the forum entitled "Uniting Regions in Transformation" as highly well-timed and meaningful, Erdogan said that despite all difficulties and problems in a tough geography, Turkey continued to develop with stability and democracy and protected its identity of being a secure island. "It is clear that any country which runs away from regional cooperation in the Caucasus, Middle East, North Africa and Balkans will be deprived of not only prosperity but tranquility, stability and security as well," Erdogan said, adding that Turkey had no intention to interfere in the internal affairs of Syria and that Turkey made these warnings because it knew that the fire in Syria would engulf the whole region. Touching on the Palestinian conflict and Iranian issue, Erdogan said, "I underline once again that we draw attention to Palestine because we regard the Palestinian conflict as the most important issue that threatens peace and stability in the region. We displayed the same principled position in the Iranian issue. We said that a new crisis in the region would affect the whole region. We have always supported negotiations and dialogue." Erdogan further stated that the world was longing for three main things, namely, global peace, love and sharing. "On one side are the least-developed countries, on another side are the developing countries and on a third side are the developed countries. How much can the developed and developing countries help the least-developed countries?" Erdogan asked, adding that he believes it is important that the WEF produces some sort of solution to these problems. Erdogan also stressed Turkey's achievements in the past decade. "Turkey's debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was $23.5 billion in 2002 due to stand-by agreements, and this debt had decreased to $1.7 billion by 2012. Turkey's debt to the IMF will be paid completely by April 2013," Erdogan added. Following the summit, Erdogan met with Kyrgyz Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov, Jordanian Prime Minister Fayez al-Tarawneh and Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko at the Prime Ministry Office in Dolmabahce, Istanbul. The WEF meeting on Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz and Turkey's EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis. Covering Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, it is the first occasion on which such a large geographical area has been brought together under one forum.