Beginning his letter with the words “Esteemed President, Distinguished Friend”, Erdoğan noted that he attached great importance to the ongoing cooperation in the face of the challenges posed by Covid-19 pandemic that led to a global crisis.

Erdoğan indicated that he believed Covid-19 would be defeated through collaborative efforts and firmer steps would be taken to move forward in the field of public health thanks to the lessons learned from and the new skills developed in the fight against this crisis, and he noted the following:

“I appreciate your determined struggle to contain the pandemic in the US and I am very pleased to see that you have taken initial steps towards normalization with a downward trend in the number of cases thanks to the measures you have taken. We have no doubt that the people of America will manifest due resilience and soon leave behind this crisis, which has been a great challenge for all of us. In this process, you can rest assured that our country, as a reliable and strong ally of the US, will continue to stand in solidarity all the way for both meeting the basic needs in the fight against the pandemic and in the process of normalization. Thus, in addition to supplies for which we have granted export licenses previously, we are now sending aid consisting of medical supplies needed by the American people to the US by an aircraft of our Air Forces. I hope that this humble assistance we are sending will support your fight against the pandemic and contribute to the speedy recovery of your citizens affected by the disease.”

Emphasizing that he believed maintaining the cooperation and acting in close coordination and collaboration would be extremely important and beneficial in the post-pandemic process for the implementation of the reforms and regulations required by the global order, especially in restoring the international economy, Erdoğan said, “I hope that we can share our ideas and proposals on this matter in the shortest time possible. Likewise, I think that we need to take advantage of the favorable environment created by our cooperation, which has become stronger and diversified due to the pandemic, in order to advance bilateral relations between Turkey and America in every field and to fulfill the potential of our countries in the most effective way, especially our trade target of 100 billion dollars.”

Erdoğan concluded his letter as follows: “As a matter of fact, recent developments in our region, especially in Syria and Libya, have once again shown how important it is to maintain the Turkey-US alliance and cooperation in the strongest way. I hope that the Congress and the US press will have a better understanding of the strategic importance of our relations and act in a sense required for our common struggle with our common problems in the upcoming period thanks to the solidarity we have shown during the pandemic. On this occasion, I would like to once again offer my condolences on behalf of my country and nation, to the friendly and allied American people, especially to their relatives, over the loss of citizens in the US due to Covid-19, and express my sincere regards and greetings in this struggle that we will successfully conclude together and wish for the continuation of our close cooperation.” (ILKHA)