Call from President Erdoğan: My Kurdish brothers, do not fall for the games.

27.01.2026 16:01

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made very critical statements at the Overseas Contracting Services Success Awards Ceremony. Without naming names regarding the developments in Syria, Erdoğan reacted to the DEM Party, saying, "There cannot be a state within a state. There cannot be separate armed forces within the state, there cannot be a parallel army. I ask my Kurdish brothers not to fall for the games aimed at undermining our eternal and everlasting brotherhood."

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the Overseas Contracting Services Success Awards Ceremony. Erdoğan also gave striking messages regarding the developments in Syria.

Emphasizing that the people of Syria want peace, Erdoğan said, "There cannot be a state within a state. There cannot be separate armed forces within a state, there cannot be a parallel army. I urge my Kurdish brothers not to fall for the games aimed at undermining our eternal and everlasting brotherhood. Do not give credence to those who try to stir up discord and division."

"THE TURKISH CONTRACTING SECTOR HAS ONCE AGAIN CONFIRMED ITS SUCCESS"

Here are the highlights from Erdoğan's speech:

I congratulate our companies, to whom we will soon present our awards, and I thank them for bringing this pride to our country. Our overseas contracting and technical consultancy sector continues to announce, shine, and elevate Turkey's name with its projects all around the world. Turkish contractors also carry our strong engineering expertise, our business culture, and our reliability to different countries. Turkish construction companies have managed to rank among the most prestigious firms in the world with the projects they have carried out abroad in recent years. The work discipline, exemplary work ethic, and quality understanding of our companies have made them sought-after business partners on a global scale.

The overseas activities of the Turkish construction sector, which began in 1972, have reached a level that makes us all proud today, running from success to success over the past 54 years. So far, we have secured more than 557 billion dollars in business across 12,816 projects in 138 countries, 90% of which have been during our administrations. We are determined to maintain this momentum despite the negative conditions in the global economy. The list of the world's 250 largest international contracting firms has once again confirmed the success of the Turkish contracting sector. In terms of the number of firms on the list, we ranked second in the world. While we had 43 firms on the list the previous year, this year we are represented by 45 firms on the same list. Another striking figure is this: 8 Turkish firms have entered the top 100, with two of them being in the top 50. This year, 8 of our companies were also included in the ENR magazine's list of the top 225 design and engineering companies, and in terms of the number of companies, our country has risen one place compared to last year, ranking 6th in the world. I wholeheartedly congratulate our technical consultancy firms and our sector, and I want to express here that we expect many more successes that will make us proud.

"THE WORLD ECONOMY IS IN A PAINFUL PROCESS"

Dear brothers, the successes that Turkish contractors have achieved on a global scale become even more meaningful in the current economic context. For the last 4-5 years, the world economy has been going through truly painful processes; the aftershocks of the coronavirus pandemic, defined as the greatest health crisis of the last century, have not yet subsided, and in addition to the disruptions in the supply chain, hot conflicts and trade wars have been added. When we look around us, we can all see that our surroundings are practically a fire zone from north to south. Especially the year 2025 has been recorded as a period when uncertainties increased globally, geopolitical risks, protectionist trade policies, and weakening external demand have put pressure on the world economy.

"2025 HAS BEEN A YEAR OF RECORDS"

Here, I would like to proudly say that in a period where the norms in global trade, diplomacy, and security have been disrupted, the Turkish economy has demonstrated a remarkable performance. The year 2025 has been a year in which we have largely achieved our economic targets, the balances have been restored, significant gains have been made in the fight against inflation, and we have broken records especially in exports and tourism.

Inflation has fallen to its lowest level in the last 49 months. The increase in our Central Bank reserves continues in the same way. For the first time in our history, our bank's reserves have exceeded the 200 billion dollar mark. We have raised the reserves we inherited in 2002, which were only 27.5 billion dollars, to 205 billion 177 million dollars as of last week. We see the same picture in employment as well. Our seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has maintained its single-digit trend for the last 31 months. We are witnessing the positive effects of our investment, production, employment, and export-oriented growth strategy in many areas.

Look, dear brothers, this positive outlook in the economy naturally reflects on our trade performance as well. In 2025, when global demand weakened and protectionism increased, Turkey broke the record for goods exports in the history of the Republic with 273.4 billion dollars, maintaining its production power and competitiveness. In 2025, our exports increased by a net 11.7 billion dollars compared to the previous year. We have also exceeded our targets in service exports, thank God. We had surpassed our service export target of 115 billion dollars in 2024 with 117.2 billion dollars. In 2025, we reached our service export target of 121 billion dollars on an annualized basis as early as September. We believe that our service exports will exceed our 2025 target and reach 122.5 billion dollars. I congratulate all our exporters operating in various service sectors, from logistics and transportation to tourism, from information technology and software to series and film productions, from education to health tourism, from contracting to fair organization, and I thank each one of you; I sincerely congratulate each of you.

Last year, I shared our target for goods and services exports for 2025 as 390 billion dollars. Today, I am pleased to express that according to our ministry's estimates, our goods and services exports have exceeded this target with 396.5 billion dollars. I once again express my gratitude on behalf of my country and my nation to all stakeholders, exporters, producers, and all firms operating in the overseas contracting and technical consultancy sector who contributed to this success.

We achieved all of this together; we brought Turkey to these levels through our collective efforts. Inshallah, we will be in much better and more beautiful places. As inflation decreases, as we maintain fiscal discipline, as we progress steadily towards a current account surplus, and most importantly, as we implement our reforms one by one, Turkey will permanently differentiate positively from economies similar to itself. Thus, growth will not be limited to certain segments, contrary to some claims, but will directly reflect on the welfare of all 86 million people, including workers, producers, investors, youth, women, and retirees.

"NEW DOORS ARE OPENING FOR TURKEY"

Dear guests, my very valuable brothers, seeing these figures merely as numbers would be a great injustice, especially to you brothers who are currently here and to our exporters.

Now we are entering a period where we will reap the fruits of our efforts, endeavors, sacrifices, and patience in many areas. New doors are opening for Turkey, and new windows of opportunity are being opened. Look, I express this with emphasis and sincerity: We will hopefully see the blessings of standing by the oppressed in Gaza, embracing our brothers in Syria for 13.5 years, and displaying a principled, honorable, and conscientious stance in global politics.

"A GREAT CONSTRUCTION MOBILIZATION WILL BEGIN IN SYRIA"

As Syria achieves stability and security, I believe that all neighboring countries, especially us, will directly feel the positive effects of this; trade will accelerate, investments will increase, and tourism will develop. Hopefully, a great construction and revival mobilization will begin throughout Syria, especially in the settlements that the old regime has turned into rubble with barrel bombs. As the effects of the oppression that cost the lives of nearly one million Syrians are erased, and as Syria heals its wounds with Turkey's support and stands up again, very different winds will blow in our region; we can already see the signs of this. Just a year after the December 8 revolution, steps have been taken in Syria that were previously unimaginable. The Syrian economy has begun the process of integrating into the international system. Millions of Syrian refugees, including six hundred thousand from our country, have returned to their homeland. Promising developments are also taking place in the social and political fields. We are very pleased to see that the fundamental rights of our Kurdish brothers, who were not even considered citizens in the Assad regime, have been guaranteed with the latest decree published by President Shara.

"THE SHELF LIFE OF TERRORISM HAS EXPIRED"

I believe that this comprehensive development mobilization will accelerate even more with the transfer of oil fields, which have long been under the occupation of terrorist organizations, to the Syrian government. The resources that should be spent for the welfare of the Syrian people will now be used not to build tunnels underground but to build schools, hospitals, bakeries, factories, and roads above ground. The wealth of Syria will be used for beneficial projects that will increase education, health, and the welfare level of the people instead of terrorist fortifications. Everyone needs to see and accept this once: Our Syrian brothers are overwhelmed by conflicts and destruction. The Syrian people want peace, they want tranquility. They want to live side by side as brothers, whether Arab, Turkmen, Kurdish, or Nusayri. The Syrian children who have borne the entire burden of conflicts for years no longer want to hear the sounds of weapons and bombs. At this point, no one has the right to impose new costs on the Syrian people, regardless of the reason. The era of terrorism, violence, and weapons has ended; their time is over.

"PLEASE DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO THOSE TRYING TO INCITE HATRED"

Especially, there is no longer any possibility of achieving results by hiding behind children, especially those who are only 14-15 years old. There cannot be a state within a state, there cannot be separate armed forces within a state, there cannot be a parallel army. The only way out is to resolve the issue peacefully in accordance with the spirit of the agreement reached. We want reason to prevail over greed and ambition in this matter. I especially ask my Kurdish brothers and Kurdish citizens: Do not fall for the games that aim to strike a blow to our eternal and everlasting brotherhood and sow discord among us. Do not give in to the exploiters, and please do not pay attention to those trying to incite strife, corruption, division, and hatred.

The Republic of Turkey, with its 86 million citizens, is especially the safest refuge for the ten million who have turned their faces and direction towards it; it is their home, their guarantee. This state is the state of everyone whose eyes shine with hope upon hearing its name. Turkey does not remain indifferent or a bystander to the suffering of its friends and brothers, not only beyond its borders but anywhere in the world. Throughout our history, we have been a nation that embraces those in need without any discrimination. We are acting with the same sincerity today. We are meeting the humanitarian aid requests from our Kurdish brothers living beyond our borders in close cooperation with the Syrian government. In addition to our AFAD and Red Crescent, our humanitarian aid organizations are reaching out to those in need in northern Syria, delivering assistance. In other words, a very prudent path is being followed to ensure that no one is harmed, no one is victimized, and the issue is resolved without further bloodshed, and we find this extremely valuable as Turkey.

I find it useful to remind you of the following: Two wrongs do not make a right, and three wrongs do not make a right either. You know, a great mistake was made by not adhering to the March 10 agreement in Syria. Another mistake was made by leaving the meetings on January 4 unresolved. We attach great importance to the implementation of the ceasefire and full integration agreement established on January 18 in this regard. The path of reason and the path of conscience are one and the same. The right path for Syria is also clear. I hope and wish that everyone sees that repeating the same mistakes and wrongs will lead nowhere. May God open our way and our fortune.

With these thoughts, I once again sincerely congratulate all our contractors, whether they have received an award or not, whether they are here or not. I would like to thank the Turkish Contractors Association, its Chairman, and its members once again for this beautiful gathering. I greet you once again with respect and entrust you all to God. Stay healthy.