Dear Students, Dear President, Dear Guests,

Thank you for inviting me to Apeldoorn for this event. It
is a pleasure for me to address this audience at the Wittenborg University.

Today, I would like to talk about Türkiye’s history of a
hundred years and I will try to display why this is a relevant topic today by
making references to recent developments. I would also like to touch upon
Türkiye’s position in today’s world. Then I will try to wrap up with
Dutch-Turkish relations and I also hope to answer a few questions.

Proclamation of the Turkish Republic constitutes a
historic cornerstone. It is the birthday of our modern, democratic, pluralistic
and secular country.

1923 also marks the end of the Great War for Turks, the
First World War which the Netherlands managed to stay out as a neutral country.
The Great War officially ended in 1918 and with the agreements that followed in
the Paris Peace Conference the next year. Many historians agree that Paris
Peace Conference did very little for a long lasting peace. A British Field
Marshall, Archibald Wavell commented on the treaties bringing the Great War to
an end as: “After the war to end all wars, they seem to have been pretty
successful in Paris at making a Peace to end all Peace”.

The wisdom in his words has unfortunately later
recognized dearly in Europe: As we all know, the harsh conditions of the Treaty
of Versailles dictated upon Germany brought about the collapse of its economy
and society. And together with the utter humiliation, it paved the way for the
rise of Hitler and the catastrophes of the Second World War. The lesser known
Treaty of Trianon has effectively split the Balkans into ethnic based
countries, which laid the ground for the atrocities in 1990’s Balkan civil
wars.

Another theatre of the First World War ended a year
earlier in 1917 with the Bolshevik revolution. I will not go into detail of how
it shaped the world for the next 70 years with the rise of communism, the Cold
War and the collapse of the USSR and the Iron Curtain. However, it is
imperative to remember that many conflicts that still continue today in this
geography of the former Soviet countries, between Azerbaijan and Armenia,
Russian invasion of Georgia, annexation of Crimea and the war in Ukraine can be
trailed back to the First World War.

Five hundred years of the Ottoman rule in Europe and the
Near East is referred to as “Pax Ottomana – The Ottoman Peace” by historians.
However, at the beginning of the 20th century, the British and French referred
to “The Eastern problem” and it was about the partition of the Middle East -
Ottoman Empire at the time. The secret agreements between the Great Britain and
France and later on with Russia and Italy, simply ended this period of peace in
the Middle East. We all follow the recent situation in Palestine and Israel.
HAMAS attacks followed by the attacks of Israel to the Gaza strip is condemned
globally. UN Secretary General called the Israeli attacks a ‘collective
punishment’ of Palestinians. I will not discuss this issue today, but it is
crucial to remember that the beginning of today’s conflict goes back to the
First World War.

Where does Türkiye stand in this part of history? We were
not spared at the Paris Peace Conference, and the Treaty of Sevres, as harsh as
Versailles, as controversial as Trianon, was tried to be dictated upon the
Ottomans as well. The Treaty of Sevres aimed to cripple the Ottoman Empire into
a British and French colony as they did in the Middle East.

Istanbul is the first city in history to be bombarded by
airplanes in modern warfare and it was during the First World War. We were hit
by the first ever aerial bombardment of civilian populated areas and cities.
The Turkish delegation protested it in the Paris Peace Conference, asked for a
condemnation of this brutal act, to avoid such an aggression happen again in
the future, but our demands for justice fell on deaf ears. Unfortunately, as
you very well know, it lead the way for the destructions of cities and millions
of civilian lives in aerial bombardments in the Second World War, also here in
the Netherlands. Aerial bombardment of civilians still continues today in
conflicts in Syria, in Ukraine and in Palestine.

Istanbul was also the only capital city which was
occupied by the allied forces after the Great War. A crucial sea passage of
Istanbul and Dardanelles Straits were taken under control. Under occupation,
the victors of the war dictated the terms of the Treaty of Sevres to an Ottoman
delegation. However, we resisted. The Ottoman Parliament in Istanbul refused to
ratify this Treaty and put forward its own plan for an independent new country
with a document called Misak-ı Milli (National Borders). The response of the
British and the French was harsh: The occupation forces stormed the Ottoman
Parliament, arrested the elected MPs and effectively brought an end to the
Ottoman Parliament. A decorated Turkish war hero, Mustafa Kemal had foreseen
this, and he had already left Istanbul to lead a resistance against the
occupation. The last of the Ottoman MPs who managed to escape British and
French persecution in Istanbul joined Mustafa Kemal and other founding fathers
in Ankara. In dire conditions, new elections were held in unoccupied regions of
Türkiye and a new parliament was established in Ankara in 1920. The Parliament
commanded the Turkish War of Independence in many fronts and against the
Superpowers of the time. And against all odds, we won. The Turkish forces led
by Mustafa Kemal, honoured as a Field Marshall and Ghazi, by the Parliament,
were victorious.

What followed was a clear deviation from the rest of
history after the Great War: We negotiated a Peace Treaty in the Swiss city of
Lausanne and it was signed in July 1923. The Peace Treaty of Lausanne is the
founding Treaty of our country and the last Treaty which ended the First World
War. The fate of it has been different: It remains the only Peace Treaty signed
after the First World War that remains in force today. This is an outstanding
achievement where we have been surrounded by conflicts and wars during the past
century. Türkiye and its founding Treaty stands strong in peace and stability.
Another treaty was separately negotiated and signed a decade later to establish
Turkish rule and an international regime over the Turkish straits. The Montreux
Convention now rules the entry and exits to and from the Black Sea to
international waters.

Türkiye is a founding member of the UN, a staunch member
of NATO and all major European institutions, and a candidate for EU. Being a
key actor in Europe, the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Middle East, Mediterranean
and Black Sea regions, Türkiye is in a tough neighbourhood. We are facing
complex challenges. Starting with the one between Russia and Ukraine. We will
adamantly and persistently continue to work to end the war in Ukraine and
towards the establishment of peace. Montreux Convention has been crucial to
prevent escalation of conflicts in the Black Sea region and enabled us to
formulate the Black Sea Grain Initiative that affects every household in the
world.

We will continue to advocate resolution of the conflict
in Syria through a political process and on the basis of Syria's territorial
integrity. The only way to achieve a lasting peace in the Middle East is with a
two-state solution based on international parameters and with the establishment
of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its
capital. We will oppose any step which undermines this vision.

Today more than ever, Türiye is ready to share its
experience with the rest of the World as we are going through a “more complex
and multiple crises era.” There is a need for change, but how will this change
take place? It will depend on the policy choices of the leading states and their
ability to implement decisions. Türkiye is undoubtedly one of these leading
states.

Turkish Economy

The regions surrounding Türkiye also brings inherent
advantages. During the past three decades, Istanbul has become a cultural,
economic and commercial hub globally. Istanbul Airport is the biggest air hub
in Europe since 2015. One can reach to more than a dozen countries with an hour
flight from Istanbul and within 4 hours one can reach to a market of 2 billion
people in 57 countries, a geography extending from Ireland to India.

We have the 19th biggest economy in the world with a GDP
of 906 billion USD last year, just one step behind the Netherlands, Average
growth rate between 2002 and 2022 is 5.4 %. That figure makes Türkiye the
fastest growing economy amongst the OECD countries.

Türkiye has attracted around 240 billion USD of FDI over
the past two decades. Political stability and economic vitality of the private
sector have paved the way for the realization of large scale infrastructural
investment projects. Turkish economy enjoys emergence of strong industries such
as the aviation, defense and aerospace, ICT, life sciences, agrofood and
energy.

Türkiye is also one of the fastest growing energy markets
in the world in parallel to its economic growth. According to the International
Energy Agency (lEA) Türkiye will likely see the fastest medium to long-term
growth in energy demand among the IEA member countries. In order to meet this
growth, we have invested immensely in the energy sector, especially in the
renewables. Türkiye has the 11th biggest installed capacity in renewables in
the world and ranks 5th in Europe with a 56 GW. That constitutes 54 % of our
total installed energy capacity. As an energy hub, Türkiye also plays a vital
role with respect to European and global energy security.

Türkiye was the 4th most popular tourist destination in
the world last year after the US, attracting more than 50 million visitors. If
you have not visited Türkiye, I cannot think of a better time than now.

Türkiye-Holland relations

Following the proclamation of the Republic, The
Netherlands was one of the first countries to sign a Treaty of Friendship with
the newly established Republic of Türkiye. Next year, marks another 100th
anniversary, that it the signing of the Treaty of Friendship between Türkiye
and the Netherlands.

It is indeed a unique relation between our two countries
which spans over more than 4 centuries of friendship. Türkiye and the
Netherlands have never fought a war against each other, which is quite a rare
situation for both countries, actually for any country in Europe. The relations
between our countries are based on common values and our solid alliance within
the NATO framework, which dates back to the 1950s.

Our economic relations have always been strong: The
Netherlands has been the biggest foreign investor in Türkiye with investments
in various sectors such as energy, agriculture/food and chemicals. The presence
of Dutch companies in Türkiye also goes back in history, such as Shell which is
also celebrating its 100th year in Türkiye and Unilever.

The Dutch Turkish community constitutes one of the most
important aspects of our relations. More than half a million people of Turkish
background live in the Netherlands. It would have been nice to have half a
million people of Dutch background in Türkiye. I am thrilled just to think
about the diversity and different points of view, richness of another language
and culture, trade and commerce connections they would bring with them. We
don’t have it in Türkiye, but luckily you do have it here in the Netherlands. I
hope they will be embraced in the Netherlands more openly as a diverse, dynamic
and young community. Because the presence of the Dutch Turks here have
contributed and will only contribute to the better and bright economic, social
and political future of the Netherlands.

Thank you very much.