* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)
Click to read the article in Turkish
President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the "New Naval Systems Delivery Ceremony" in Tuzla, İstanbul yesterday (August 23).
"It is not possible for nations that cannot be strong and independent in the field of defence to look to their future with confidence, Erdoğan said and added, "With the fulfilment of our national defence and security needs, technological independence has become more critical than ever in terms of creating deterrence in the international arena."
Other highlights from his speech were briefly as follows:
"We have to go further, to produce more advanced products. We consider every success we achieve as a stepping stone to the next. Each project accordingly run by the public and private defence industry organizations allows us to look to our future more confidently.
'We can survive if we are strong in every field'
"Turkey is located in the core of a region, where the world's hardest conflicts, political crises, disputes and tensions occur. In such critical geopolitics, we can survive only if we can be strong in every field. The years-long indifference towards the rights and laws of our country has been caused by our lack of sufficient political, economic and technological power.
"Those uncomfortable with the influence and power of our country are striving to send Turkey back to its former quagmire of instability and to keep it there. They use all kinds of military, political, economic, social turmoil, coup and trap methods with a dare that they no longer even need to hide.
'They will be responded inside and outside'
"It is understood that those who are not satisfied with the lessons that they have learned in the past now set their sights on the year 2023. I hope that, in 2023, our nation, with their vast wisdom, will respond to the fascists both inside and outside in a way they deserve.
"Our goal is to build a defence industry development and production infrastructure that will not require outsourcing in any critical area. This also means turning our country into one of the world's leading defence industry exporters.
"Thanks to the breakthroughs we have made so far, it is just the beginning that we have become a country that makes a game in its region, spoils a game and directs developments." (RT/SD)
* Translation: Presidential Directorate of Communications
