My august nation,

I congratulate our citizens, living at home and abroad, and all our friends, who share our pride on this day which is one of the golden links of our glorious history, on the occasion of the 29 October Republic Day.

I remember with gratitude Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of our Republic, and his gallant brothers in arms on the 98th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey.

I wish Allah’s mercy upon our august martyrs who entrusted these lands to us at the cost of their lives.

Also, on behalf of my country, nation and myself, I extend my gratitude to our veterans who were honored with the title of ghazi while fighting for the sake of the same sacred cause.

I thank all our members of the parliament who as the distinguished representatives of the national will have since the first Assembly served our country under the roof of the Great National Assembly of Turkey and paid a price when needed.

I pray my Lord for the success of our security forces who serve selflessly inside and along our borders for Turkey’s permanence and our august nation’s tranquility, security and welfare.

I wholeheartedly congratulate our state officials, non-governmental organizations and business people that wave our flag with pride all across the world.

We as the 84 million maintain our efforts in unity and solidarity with the strength we derive from our deep-rooted history and ancient values to make Turkey grow bigger and achieve its goals.

We have left behind the most severe phase of the coronavirus pandemic, which has deeply shaken the whole world, by successfully managing it thanks to the strength and capacity of our healthcare infrastructure.

Likewise in economy, we closed 2020, when the global economy shrank by more than 3 per cent, with a growth rate of 1.8 per cent.

We have not allowed any deficiencies in any matter, from the fight against terror to public security and from investments to our cross-border operations.

During this period, the support we provided to our Libyan brothers and sisters, who faced attacks by putschists, and to the Azerbaijani Turks, who fought against the occupation in Karabakh, has, thanks be to Allah, changed the destiny of both countries.

While the putschists were completely defeated in Libya, our Azerbaijani brothers and sisters took back their own lands after nearly a 30-year-long occupation.

Also, we have thwarted the attempts aimed at excluding our country and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus from the hydrocarbon resources in the Eastern Mediterranean.

These achievements, which we have made in economy, internal politics and foreign policy despite the harsh conditions of the pandemic, are an important sign of the efficiency of the Presidential System of Government as well as of our country’s strong infrastructure.

Thanks be to Allah, we increasingly maintain this momentum, which we gained last year, in 2021 as well in every field, economy, production and exportation in particular.

While the centennial of our Republic has been now clearly sighted on the horizon, we will not allow any power, any dirty scenario or any insidious attack, which seeks Turkey’s stumbling, to deter us from our path.

We as the nation will firmly hold onto our unity, solidarity and brotherhood, which are our biggest assurances, and endeavor to achieve our cause of a great and strong Turkey.

The steely will, which carried the national struggle to victory and brought our Republic into existence, will continue to be our guide in this sacred struggle we have been putting up, as has been the case for the last 98 years.

May my Lord help and guide us!

With these thoughts, I congratulate you once again on the 29 October Republic Day.

May you be blessed with good health, tranquility and welfare!

May our martyrs rest in peace!

Happy 98th anniversary of the proclamation of our Republic!

Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN

President of Turkey