President Gul addresses 5th Izmir Economic Congress

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 5th Izmir Economic Congress, President Abdullah Gul addressed a number of issues, primarily the importance of strengthening democracy for enabling economic prosperity.  "Democracy means the rule of law. Higher democratic standards strengthen the Turkish people's unity and solidarity, increase investors' confidence and attract foreign investment into Turkey," Gul stated. Underlining the fact that civilizations which have lost their economic power have also lost their strength in time and have been erased from the pages of history, Gul noted that it was highly normal to face crises or economic depression in such a global economy as today's; however, robust economies are those which are able to transform these crises into economic opportunities in which Turkish economy has also ranked so far. "Our country has achieved great successes in reaching these targets in the past 90 years since 1923. Today, the Turkish economy with its gross domestic product reaching up to $1 trillion is the 16th biggest economy in the world and the 6th biggest economy in Europe. Moreover, we are a country integrated with global economy," Gul concluded.