29.10.2026 22:13
In a statement following the Cabinet meeting, President Erdoğan gave a clear response to the European Union countries that reacted to Libya's approval of the maritime jurisdiction areas agreement. Erdoğan said, "There is no legitimate justification for the reactions. Our Eastern Mediterranean policy is very clear. We are not concerned with scoring against anyone in the Eastern Mediterranean. We are only concerned with protecting our maritime jurisdiction rights in the Eastern Mediterranean."
The Cabinet Meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has ended. President Erdoğan, who appeared before the cameras after the meeting, is making statements.
Highlights from Erdoğan's statements are as follows:
“My dear citizens, we have just completed our cabinet meeting. At our meeting, we consulted on current developments regarding domestic politics, the economy, security, and foreign policy. In a period when instability is increasing in our region and new areas of tension are emerging, as the government we continue to keep our country on the path of stability and development. The course of the world shows that preserving the environment of peace and stability in our country will become even more important for Türkiye in the coming period.
PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN: WE ARE FOCUSING ON ESTABLISHING NEW PARTNERSHIPS I know that our citizens, regardless of which view, origin, or sect they belong to, are at least as meticulous as we are in preserving this environment of peace and stability, and I thank our nation for its common sense.
As Türkiye, against those who pour gasoline on the fire in our geography with expansionist ambitions, we are sincerely struggling with all our means to extinguish this fire, relieve the pain, and stop the flowing blood. From the Balkans to the Turkic republics, wherever we have a brother, kin, or friend, we defend their rights in the strongest way on every platform. Starting with our neighbors, we endeavor to establish friendly relations and good relations based on mutual respect with almost every country. We do not stop there; we are focusing on establishing new partnerships with countries with which we have had limited relations for many years for various reasons. Since our last meeting, we have all witnessed developments that have expanded Türkiye's sphere of influence in the context of international relations.
On October 16, with Cambodia, we discussed new cooperation opportunities in a wide range from bilateral trade and investments to energy, education, and the defense industry. The military framework agreement signed between the two countries became a reference determining the direction of our relations with Cambodia in the new period. Another historic step we took was the official visit of Canadian Prime Minister Mr. Carney and his delegation to our country. We have almost crowned this visit, which constitutes a turning point in our 83-year diplomatic relations with Canada, by elevating our relations to the level of strategic partnership. In addition, we signed three new agreements that will strengthen our cooperation in the fields of defense, air transport, and energy.
To increase our trade and investments, we agreed to begin negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement before the end of the year. We aim to increase our trade volume, which currently stands at around 3 billion dollars, first to 5 billion dollars and then to 10 billion dollars. Again, over the weekend, we hosted the 9th Mediation Conference in Istanbul, followed by the Foreign Ministers' meetings. God willing, on Wednesday we will host Kazakh President Mr. Tokayev in Ankara. We will celebrate the 103rd anniversary of our Republic with great enthusiasm together with distinguished guests from the Turkic world. On the same day, we will open Beştepe Nation's Forest, the pearl of our Presidential Complex, for public use.
“OUR FAMILY COUNCIL IS THE ORGANIZATION OF TURKIC STATES” On Friday, October 30, we will again host in Ankara the 13th summit of the Organization of Turkic States, which we see as our family council. As the Turkic world, I believe we will once again stand with unity and solidarity against those who want to plant dynamite in our unshakable brotherhood.
After that, God willing, we will have a visit to South Korea. On the return from Seoul, we will organize the COP31 Summit in Antalya with the participation of a large number of heads of state and government. God willing, we will use these visits and summits in the most efficient way to further strengthen Türkiye's regional and global role.
“TÜRKİYE AND LIBYA HAVE GUARANTEED THEIR LEGITIMATE RIGHTS IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN” We look at issues from the perspective of our Turkish state tradition. We are after building the future, not saving face. The most concrete example of this is our Libya policy. In its most difficult times, we stood firmly by the brotherly Libyan people. We tried to fulfill the requirements of our brotherhood law. As you know, on November 27, 2019, we signed with the Libyan Government of National Accord the memorandum on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction areas of strategic importance. This memorandum became a major step guaranteeing the legitimate rights of Türkiye and Libya in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Last week, another good development took place. The memorandum was unanimously approved by the Libyan House of Representatives. In addition to the unanimity, this is also admirable: the embodiment of the principle of one Libya, one state, which Türkiye has defended since the first day, within the scope of the memorandum is truly very valuable. Another important aspect of the decision is that our Libyan brothers acted jointly on matters concerning their national interests despite their political differences. I find the development of this spirit extremely promising for Libya's prosperous and secure future.
“WE ARE NOT AFTER SCORING GOALS AGAINST SOMEONE IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN” I want to express this here with all my heart. We believe that the path to peace, prosperity, and security passes through unity and solidarity. For this reason, we are in a sincere effort throughout our geography to reduce conflicts and enlarge alliances. As Türkiye, we do not want to see separation or division either in Libya or in any other Islamic land. God willing, this desire of ours will also move from potential to action in Libya. Türkiye will continue to be in dialogue with all actors for this.
My dear nation, of course here we must underline this fact as well. After the approval of the memorandum, the reactions given, especially by the European Union, have no legitimate justification. Our policy regarding the Eastern Mediterranean is very clear. In the Eastern Mediterranean, so to speak, we are not after scoring goals against someone. We are only concerned with protecting our maritime jurisdiction area, rights, and interests. We advocate that disputes be addressed through peaceful methods and resolved through dialogue with all coastal states. We expect all actors, especially the European Union, to display the same constructive will.
“OUR ONLY COMPASS IS TÜRKİYE'S INTERESTS” Everyone should know this once: aggressive rhetoric disconnected from facts will benefit no one. Türkiye is already not a country that gives credit to such rhetoric or determines policy according to them. In both our politics and our foreign policy, our only compass is Turkey's interests. Even if it means paying a price in the end, we never hesitate to do what is right and beneficial for Turkey and the Turkish nation. To those trying to exclude Turkey from the Eastern Mediterranean, I once again remind them that we expect respect for the common will of our country and Libya. I send my heartfelt greetings to our brothers and sisters in the Libyan House of Representatives and to the brotherly Libyan people. I pray that God makes our solidarity everlasting.
"TURKEY IS NOT A COUNTRY TO BE SURRENDERED TO THE STREET" I consider it valuable that politicians who said "What business do we have in Libya?" now acknowledge our rights. I especially state that I consider this valuable for the future of politics. Look, I have said this before as well. Turning politics away from competition on a democratic ground and in consensus into almost a quarrel among enemies is an approach that is as wrong as it is dangerous.
I see the war jargon that the opposition has recently taken up, which it is unclear whom and what it serves, but which is very obviously not serving Turkey, as one of the clearest examples of this irresponsibility. Turkey, praise be to God, is a country where peace and tranquility prevail in every inch. Turkey is a country where 86 million people live in unity and harmony as brothers and sisters, and which is an island of peace in its region. But if there are those who, taking courage from events in some European countries, dream of a similar attempt, let them know that Turkey was not created in the street. Nor is it a country to be surrendered to the street.
Those who attack our government under the pretext of press freedom should, before trying to cover up crimes with demonstrations, if they can, come out and disclose the dirty relations they have engaged in. Let no one be offended. Those who until just yesterday openly threatened press organizations, journalists, and television channels in public squares cannot give us lessons on press freedom.
We have a problem neither with press freedom nor with critical voices. In terms of media diversity, Turkey is one of the world's most advanced countries. In terms of the number of television channels, our country ranks among the top in Europe. Hundreds of television channels and thousands of radio channels from every viewpoint broadcast freely in our country. As long as it does not contain insult, lies, or disinformation, anyone who wishes says, writes, and speaks whatever they want. We, too, see this as a symbol of Turkey's sociological diversity and welcome different voices. But like all democratic countries of the world, Turkey does not and cannot allow operations to be mounted against it through shady relations.
"TURKEY MUST BE THE PRIORITY FOR ALL OF US" I would like to remind you once again of this fundamental truth. Whether we are in power or in opposition, we are all people obliged to serve the country and the nation. Our positions, titles, and all the distinctions we hold today are nothing but means given to us by our nation to serve it. Turkey must be the priority for all of us. It must be the peace and stability of our country. As a nation, we must not give an opportunity to those rubbing their hands to disrupt the environment of stability and trust that we have achieved with great difficulty after many long years.
2027 BUDGET PROPOSAL Dear citizens, last week we submitted our 2027 Central Government Budget Proposal to the appreciation of our Gazi Parliament. We calculate expenditures at 27 trillion 276 billion lira and revenues at 23 trillion 408 billion lira.
With the 2027 budget, which we prepared by placing prosperity and social justice at its center, we will increase our country's productive power and competitive capacity and, God willing, make our economy more resilient to external shocks. We will preserve our macroeconomic stability, accelerate the disinflation process, and use public resources more effectively. While doing all this, we will strengthen investment, employment, production, and exports, which are our red lines in the economy. We are determined to make our cities resilient against natural disasters, especially earthquakes. For this, in our 2027 budget we increased urban transformation appropriations by 176 percent to 276 billion lira. We increased the social housing appropriation by 150 percent to 250 billion lira. We allocated 769 billion lira in the 2027 budget for repairing earthquake damage and increasing resilience against disasters.
As of the end of 2026, our spending for our earthquake-affected provinces reached 5.4 trillion lira at current prices. As we promised our nation, we have delivered 455,000 residences and workplaces in our eleven provinces to our entitled brothers and sisters. Another priority for us is maintaining healthy growth. We forecast completing 2026 with 3.3 percent growth. In 2027, with the effect of the improvement in the global outlook and external demand, we estimate that this rate will be at 4.2 percent.
Despite difficult conditions, we continue to increase our exports and tourism revenues. Next year, we forecast employment to increase by 657,000 people, the labor force participation rate to rise to 53.4 percent, and the unemployment rate to decline to 8 percent. In the 2027 budget, we once again gave the lion's share, 13.7 percent, to education. We allocated 2 trillion 459 billion lira in appropriations to our Ministry of National Education. Including higher education, we raised our education budget to a record level of 3 trillion 747 billion lira in total.
"WE ALLOCATED MORE THAN 4 TRILLION IN APPROPRIATIONS TO HEALTH" Our sensitivity regarding health is already known. So that our citizens can benefit from health services in the best way, this year we allocated 2 trillion 134 billion lira in appropriations to health. When we add the expenditures to be made by the Social Security Institution, the total amount allocated to health reaches 4 trillion 532 billion lira.
It is our fundamental principle that the prosperity produced by our country be delivered to every segment of society in a fair and inclusive manner. With this understanding, we allocated 1 trillion 341 billion lira in appropriations for social assistance and supports in our budget. We are also continuing the practice we started in 2022 of keeping all wages up to the minimum wage exempt from tax. In this context, in 2027 we are contributing 1 trillion 460 billion lira to our employees' incomes through tax exemption. "
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