In his address to the summit, Erdoğan praised the steps taken by the Turkic Council to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and thanked President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan for his efforts to enable the videoconference summit.

Underscoring that the entire humanity is in a tough battle against an invisible enemy at the moment, Erdoğan noted that the Turkic Council’s extraordinary videoconference summit would reinforce the solidarity among countries in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Expressing his belief that the Turkic world will emerge victorious from the ongoing difficult period, President wished Allah’s mercy upon those who died due to the COVID-19 and extended his condolences to their relatives.

“Since the day the virus started to spread, we, as Turkey, have rapidly implemented the necessary measures. Thanks to the investments we have made in healthcare over the past 17 years, we have, alhamdulillah, been caught in the pandemic in a relatively more prepared manner,” Erdoğan said. “We have not had any major problems about the production and supply of healthcare materials. Besides meeting our own needs, we, by mobilizing all our means, work to stand with our brothers and sisters.”

Pointing out that the requests coming from the Turkic Council’s members are of priority for Turkey, Erdoğan stated: “I am very pleased to see that cooperation and solidarity have been properly established among the Council members. In this regard, the Turkic Council has already proven to be a useful platform in achieving a more effective cooperation.”

The world is now faced with a global socioeconomic crisis as a repercussion of the pandemic, underlined Erdoğan, and continued: “We have to implement practical solutions as soon as possible in areas such as transportation, customs and border crossings. It is of crucial importance in terms of the continuity of supply chain to maintain international trade and cargo transportation within the framework of an open and free approach based on rules.”

Erdoğan further stressed: “The developments have once again demonstrated that it is important to consolidate the Trans-Caspian Middle Corridor. We have to enhance our cooperation in order to ensure that concrete steps are taken to develop non-contact foreign trade and multimodal transport systems along this route. We can extend to Central Asia the railway freight transportation currently employed between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia. We have been working to transport an additional load of 3500 tons per day along the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line.”

“We should get prepared for the post-pandemic era”

Erdoğan added: “We will, inshallah, win the fight against the Coronavirus. And then, we will encounter the reality of a new world. Therefore, we should get prepared for the post-pandemic era while also maintaining our fight. We should take a holistic approach to medical cooperation, trade, economy and social psychology, spotting possible areas of cooperation and taking necessary steps quickly. To this end, I propose the implementation of a coordination mechanism among our national emergency centers with a view to finding solutions to pandemic-related problems, sharing knowledge and experience, and developing strategies concerning the post-pandemic era. Such a course of action will make our Council more visible and more influential regionally and globally.” (ILKHA)