Your Excellency Minister Harari,

Honourable Deputy Minister Abdulaziz

Esteemed Members of the General National Congress,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Members of the Turkish Community in Libya,

Dear Friends of Turkey,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I and my wife would like to welcome you and thank you all for being with us tonight to share our joy and pride as we are celebrating the 89th anniversary of our Republic.

89 years ago to the day the representatives of the Turkish people from all walks of life came together under the visionary and outstanding leadership of Mustafa Kemal and proclaimed the foundation of our new State after having been pushed to wage and ultimately won a long and costly war of independence and liberation.

We are grateful to them and pay tribute to all those who sacrificed their lives for the dignity and freedom of our great nation.

I should also add that this victory of Turks against the attempted occupation and colonialism encouraged and inspired the other oppressed nations from around the world to rise up and eventually attain their liberty.

Yet I will not dwell here much on the history. But let me just point out that our fight did not stop there and was followed yet another but this time a far greater struggle. It was done through the Turkish Revolution initiated and led by Atatürk to modernize and as he put it to “bring the country to the level of the highest contemporary civilization”. Despite difficulties and disruptions faced from time to time along the way this process is still underway in Turkey. We have achieved a lot but we also know that there is still much to be done to fulfill the aspirations of our people.

Turkey today is a liberal democracy where universal values and principles like rule of law, free elections, pluralism, fundamental freedoms, gender equality and human rights are fully observed and upheld. We are also unique among the community of Islamic nations with our secular order of state where the affairs of religion and state are separate but not in conflict.

Turkey is also a free market economy where private business and free enterprise is the driving engine, public sector’s role is limited to regulatory and supervisory work, rule of law prevails in all areas of economic activity and equal treatment is accorded to foreign investment. It is robust and has been one of the strongly performing economies among G-20 member countries. We are the 6th biggest economy in Europe now and 16th in the world. We aim to be among the largest 10 in the world by 2023 when we will celebrate the centennial anniversary of our Republic.

In our foreign relations we are following the principle of “peace at home peace in the world” as laid down by Atatürk. There is another motto that you have heard frequently in recent times that is “the policy of zero problems with our neighbors”. It is indeed a slogan summarizing Turkey’s expectations with regards to her relations with neighboring countries. We want to eliminate all the problems with the countries in our neighborhood or at least to minimize them as much as possible.

While pursuing this policy, we never put realism aside and do not forget that “zero problems” approach represents an objective and an ideal.

Dear Guests,

Turkey has been following the process of political transition in Libya closely.

We are pleased to see Libya has already covered a long way in its transition to establish a fully functioning constitutional democracy.

By overthrowing one of the most dreadful and long-ruling tyrannies of modern age, Libyan people have done a great and admirable job. They fully deserve what they have been denied for so many years: liberty, justice, peace and prosperity.

We also pay tribute to the brave martyrs of the revolution who sacrificed their lives for this noble cause.

My Government believes that Libya has all that it takes to ensure a successful transition and become a model of genuine and liberal democracy and a dynamic society in its region. The Turkish people supports the comprehensive transformation process underway in Libya and wish their Libyan brothers every success in their endeavor to establish a pluralistic and constitutional democracy with strong institutions based on  common universal rules, values and principles.

We believe that democratic legitimacy, inclusiveness, national solidarity and reconciliation are other important components that need to be taken into account for the success of this process of transition.

Turkey and the Turkish people willalways stand with Libyan brothers as they start adopting democratic system of governance and rebuilding their country anew.

Turkey values and cherishes the friendship of Libya.  We have inherited the friendly and brotherly relations from our common history.

Turkey and Libya, having deep-rooted historical and brotherly ties as well as shared values, already enjoy a good and close relationship in various fields based on solidarity and partnership. Our political relations are now happily at their best level. We have the firm conviction that our cooperation in other areas will also reach to desired levels in time.

We will continue to work with our Libyan counterparts for the expansion and strengthening of the links of friendship which bind our two countries and to promote a mutually beneficial cooperation in every possible area. Turkey is ready and more than willing to share its experience, knowledge and expertise with Libya in each and every area related to creating a modern society and building a democratic state.

We are also working hard for further enhancement of bilateral economic and trade relations that I think have huge potential for the benefit of both peoples. The interaction in the field of cultural and social areas is also important for us as it represents the strongest bonds between our peoples.

I deem myself fortunate to serve in Libya especially during this time of major change. We are actually witnessing to the rebirth of a new and dynamic nation. This is something that diplomats experience rarely in their careers.

Last year we were the first Embassy that held the national day reception in Tripoli after the revolution. It was in fact just a few days after the liberation of the country.  This year’s celebration happily coincides with the formation of the new government. Taking this opportunity I would like to congratulate H.E. Mr. Zidan, the Prime Minister and his cabinet and wish them all the best in their service to Libya.

Thank you for your attention, have a good and enjoyable time.