L-R: Minister of Municipality H E Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie; Minister of State and President of Qatar National Library H E Dr. Hamad bin Abdul Aziz Al Kawari; Ambassador of Türkiye to Qatar H E Dr. Mustafa Göksu; Speaker of Shura Council H E Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim; Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs H E Ghanem bin Shaheen bin Ghanem Al Ghanim; Minister of Environment and Climate Change H E Sheikh Dr. Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed Al Thani; MoFA Chief of Protocol, H E Ambassador Ibrahim Yousef Fakhroo and Ambassador of Eritrea, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, H E Ali Ibrahim, during a cake-cutting ceremony to mark the 99th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye.
Doha:The Embassy of Türkiye in Qatar on Thursday hosted National Day reception to celebrate 99th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye.
The event was attended by Speaker of Shura Council H E Hassan bin Abdullah Al Ghanim; Minister of Municipality H E Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie; Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs H E Ghanem bin Shaheen bin Ghanem Al Ghanim; Minister of Environment and Climate Change H E Sheikh Dr. Faleh bin Nasser bin Ahmed Al Thani; Minister of State, President of Qatar National Library H E Dr. Hamad bin Abdul Aziz Al Kuwari; Chief of Protocol of MoFA H E Ambassador Ibrahim Yousef Fakhroo among other dignitaries and guests.
Addressing the reception, Ambassador of Türkiye to Qatar, H E Dr. Mustafa Göksu said: “Today, we proudly celebrate the Turkish Republic Day, which constitutes a unique turning point within the Turkish history.”
He added: “The Turkish people started the struggle that lasted years for the independence after the occupation of our country during the First World War.”
“Following the successful liberation of the country, the Turkish Grand National Assembly laid the foundation of the modern democratic Turkish state on October 29, 1923. Today, on the 99th anniversary of the proclamation of the Turkish Republic, and only one year away from the centenary of our Republic, we remember all our heroes with gratitude, with Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Türkiye, and his comrades-in-arms at the foremost,” said the Ambassador.
He added: “Today, 99 years after the proclamation of our Republic, Türkiye has placed itself among the democratic and modern nations by realising comprehensive political, economic and social achievements. In this framework, Türkiye continues its progress under the leadership of President H E Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who always affirms his pride in this legacy and continues to lead our country to reach its goals for 2023, to give future generations the opportunity to achieve their vision for 2053 and 2071.
“We are determined to maintain our state in the highest standards in terms of prosperity and development and to protect the interests of our people. We will preserve the legacy of our ancestors who made various sacrifices in order to allow us to live in security and prosperity today.”
The Ambassador said that Turkish Foreign Policy has adopted the principle of “Peace at Home Peace in the World” set out by Atatürk.
At the same time, he said, Türkiye highly values its relations with the Middle Eastern countries. “We seek to further strengthen our relations with Arab countries, with which we share common geography, culture and religious ties.”
The Ambassador saidbilateral relations between Türkiye and Qatar are of exceptional importance.
“Türkiye and Qatar are strategic allies, furthering a sincere and solid alliance on the basis of mutual respect and common interests. We are pleased with this distinguished level, and we are committed to maintaining and strengthening the current momentum in all areas, within a long-term strategic vision, so that our relations will gain more strength year after year.”
He said that the strongest indication of the solidity of joint relations is the annual meetings of the Supreme Strategic Committee led by President H E Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, where the number of agreements since the establishment of the Committee in 2014 has reached nearly 100.
“This was also clear in the volume of trade exchange between our two countries, which increased over the past five years by 60 percent, and the volume of Turkish exports to Qatar increased by 200 percent in the same period.”
Next year, the Ambassador said: “We look forward to celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Türkiye and Qatar.
“In this regard, I stress the importance of the biggest event that we are all waiting for, which Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani described as “not only a sport tournament, but also a major humanitarian event”. The World Cup clock tells us that the moment the Qatari people have long awaited is approaching, and we are fully confident that Qatar will host the best World Cup ever. We are proud that Qatar will be the first Muslim country to host such a big scale international tournament.”
