84^TH   NATIONAL DAY OF TURKEY

MESSAGE BY H.E. MR. ENGIN SOYSAL

On the occasion of the 84^th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey, I would like to extend my warmest greetings to my fellow countrymen in Pakistan and to express my best wishes for the happiness and prosperity of our Pakistani brethren.

On this auspicious day, I would like to share with our Pakistani friends my deep feelings of happiness for having had the honour of serving among wonderful people. I don’t have to emphasize that we Turks very sincerely consider Pakistan to be our own home.

The Turkish people fought the War of Istiqlal, as the Ottoman Empire was being invaded by the victors of the World War I. Following the Turkish triumph, Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Ataturk declared Turkey as a Republic on 29 October 1923.

The success of Turkey set an example for many nations struggling for independence in Asia and Africa. Turkey immediately embarked on a course of modernization and reform in all aspects of life. Despite the fact that the liberation struggle had been waged against major European powers, Turkey proceeded to establish good relations and cooperation with the West, and based her political and legal systems on modern, secular models.

The goal, as expressed by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the great leader of the liberation movement and the first President of the Republic, was “to reach the level of contemporary civilization”. And to achieve this aim, a doctrine for foreign policy was formulated that has held true to this day, in the words of Atatürk, “Peace at home, peace in the world”.

Turkey, with its dynamic economy, pluralistic democratic political structure, lively cultural life, peace seeking diplomacy and modern army is a point of attraction in a vast region and a credible and respected member of the international community.

This status of Turkey is the result of the decades of joint efforts undertaken by our nation, from its statesmen and politicians to its civil servants, workers and farmers; from its industrialists and traders to its soldiers, educators, scientists and technicians; from its artists to its athletes and our citizens working in foreign countries.

The Republic of Turkey has been pursuing an outward-oriented development scheme and export-led growth since 1980 within the context of globalization. Furthermore, Turkey has been going through a very comprehensive process of economic reform and restructuring during the last several years. Macro-economic indicators have been following a positive trend. 

Today, Turkey is among the twenty largest economies in the world with a GNP of about USD 400 billion. As a matter of fact, Turkey has recorded a sustainable growth during the last 20 quarters. The growth rate was % 6.1 in 2006.

Turkey is situated on a key location for the increasingly important energy, transportation, and communication networks that link the East to Europe. Turkey’s contribution to the regional countries, and especially to the EU will not be limited only to its own economic potential but also encompass the strategic geography it is located in.

The European Union membership remains to be our major policy priority. Developments in the Turkey-EU integration process are followed with deep interest in the world public opinion. This is particularly valid for Muslim countries and their peoples. Indeed, this project contains a vision that could positively affect the welfare, stability and peace of a vast geography beyond Europe and Turkey.

Membership to the EU is a process has its roots back in the late 1950’s. The start of the accession negotiation on 3 October has opened a new page in Turkey-EU relations. Now, Turkey is an accession country.

In the meantime, our age-old friendly relations with Pakistan have been gaining more and more strength. These relations derive strength from the deep-rooted historical ties and a common cultural heritage that binds our two brotherly nations together.

The Turks can never forget the support and solidarity extended to them by the Muslims of the Subcontinent during Turkey’s War of Istiqlal.

We still remember your grandmothers donating their ornaments and the dowry (cehiz) of their daughters for raising funds so that their Turkish brothers could buy the badly needed arms and ammunition to defeat their enemy.  

You may like to know that most of the funds raised in this way were spent to support the Turkish war effort on the Western front.

These funds were also used to supplement the raising of the Turkish Işbank that has since been playing a very significant role in the economic development of our country.

 A part of that money was also used for the agricultural development of Turkey through the setting up of many model agricultural farms and irrigation channels in our country.

We shall always remember the dedication with which your poets used to compose special poems and songs in praise of “Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha” and his brave soldiers, and how our sisters in this part of the world used to sing those songs and pray for our early victory.

And how can we forget the kind gesture of Quaid-e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah when he announced that the 18^th of November 1938 be observed by the Muslims of the Subcontinent as Kemal Day for mourning the demise of Ataturk?

Is it possible not to mention Ali brothers,  Shibli Numani, Syed Ameer Ali  and many others whose numerous articles and speeches in support of the Turkish cause and whose prayers for Turkish victory in the War of Istiqlal resulted in their imprisonment by the foreign rulers in spite of the fact that they were all above 70 years of age.

It hurts our Nation when we remember how the firing squad of the Allied Command in Istanbul executed two of the volunteers from Lahore, Malik Sahib and Rahmat Sahib as a punishment for their pro-Turkish sentiments. May their souls rest in peace!

All these facts have since become legends that will keep our common cultural history shining for all times to come. It is for this reason that our elders have been meticulously passing on these facts to the younger generations of Turks. No wonder, our friendship has remained unshakable as it rests on the firm foundations of sincere, people to people affection.

It would be of interest for you to know that, as predicted by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in very explicit terms, the War of Istiqlal and the movement for republicanism acted as an important source of inspiration for the leaders of many subjugated nations fighting for independence from the colonial powers.

This included Quaid-e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Historians have now accepted the fact that the independence movement in the Subcontinent that ultimately resulted in the creation of Pakistan was also spurred by the Turkish victory against powerful foreign invaders.

Built upon such sound foundations, the cordial relations between Pakistan and Turkey have stood the repeated tests of time. Politically, we have been supporting each other in all international forums.

Culturally too, our two nations have been strengthening the foundations laid by the world’s great poet and philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal through his intense devotion to Maulana Rumi and his numerous writings about Turkey and the Turks.

In addition to the cooperation in the multi-national organizations, the two countries have been striving hard for the development of their bilateral economic relations for the benefit of their people.

It is a matter of great satisfaction that some positive results have already started showing up. The avenues of joint enterprises in various fields and bilateral trade between the two brotherly countries are being explored to further strengthen the mutual economic relations.

Turkish nation, which also suffered from a serious earthquake in 1999, was deeply saddened by the earthquake disaster that hit Pakistan in October 2005. Therefore, we acted immediately to provide urgent needs of food, medicine, tents and blankets to Pakistan. We have also extended our medium and long term assistance to brotherly Pakistan in the fields of infrastructure, housing and school reconstruction.

Turkish Government has pledged Pakistan for humanitarian assistance, relief and construction operations. Apart from her bilateral assistance, Turkey has also responded to the relevant UN agencies and made donations in order to meet some needs of Pakistani people. Among others, various Turkish civil society organizations have conducted and are still continuing their major relief efforts in Pakistan. 

Unfortunately, for the last many years both Pakistan and Turkey have been facing the serious problem of terrorism that is liable to adversely affect the prospects of their economic development.

The government and people of my country deeply appreciate the role Pakistan has been playing in the war against international terrorism and the policies developed in this connection under H.E. General Pervez Musharraf, the President of Pakistan.

We all pray for Pakistan’s success in this extremely difficult task for the completion of which our brotherly country has already made great sacrifices in terms of human lives and material losses. Extremism is bound to be defeated by the forces of the moderate powers.

Turkey also calls upon the international community to fully support Pakistan’s relentless efforts and appreciate the contributions it has been making towards the restoration of peace, order and stability in the region.

Pakistan has demonstrated that with its inherent capabilities in terms of human and material resources it is fully capable of putting up a strong fight against terrorism.

With our Pakistani friends aspiring for a moderate, tolerant and pluralistic society with broad horizons, I can foresee far greater opportunities for development of even stronger political, economic, military, and trade relations between Turkey and Pakistan.

Let us resolve on this auspicious occasion that we shall spare no efforts to further strengthen the fraternal ties between our two countries through mutual cooperation in all fields.

Pakistan Zindabad! Turkey Paindabad!