His Excellency Mr. Zhang Jun, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a distinct pleasure for us to have you here this special evening.

We are commemorating with great pride and joy the 95th Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Republic of Turkey.

At the onset, I would like recognize distinguished guests who have travelled all the way from Turkey. We are indeed delighted to welcome Mr. Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan, President of World Ethnosport Confederation and Member of the Board of Trustees of the Archery Foundation of Turkey, Mr. Ali Haydar Yıldız, Chief Advisor to the President of the Republic of Turkey and President of the Archery Foundation of Turkey, Mr. Şeref Ateş, President of Yunus Emre Institute, Mr. Uğur Erdener, President of World Archery Federation and Mr. Murat Kolbaşı, President of Turkey-China Business Council.

Turkey’s Archery Foundation which was established in 1453 concluded this morning a very successful archery exhibition, arrow shooting demonstration and a competition at Beijing Olympic Park in collaboration with Chinese authorities.

Distinguished Guests,

It was 95 years ago this day, the form of government of Turkey was officially declared as a Republic. The motive was to establish a people-centered administration where every citizen owned the government and enjoyed the benefits of being a proud citizen.

The declaration of the Republic also marked a significant point in history as the day of bringing our struggle for liberation to a triumphant end, where national sovereignty prevailed.

I would like to commemorate with respect and gratitude Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, his comrades-in-arms, and all heroes of our war of liberation.

Atatürk was a great leader, a nation builder and a reformer whose farsighted vision has become a source of inspiration not only for the Turkish Nation but also for other nations around the globe. Atatürk’s dream and commitment to establish a modern, prosperous and a strong country still lights our way.

Today, Turkey under the visionary leadership of President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is resolutely marching towards the centennial anniversary of the Republic to achieve its development goals set for 2023.

Turkey is the 17^th largest economy in the world, 6^th largest economy in Europe, a G-20 member since its inception, active member of NATO, Organization of the Islamic Cooperation, dialogue partner of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, pursuing membership of the European Union.

Realization of 2023 goals will not only raise the standards of peace and prosperity at home, but will also reinforce Turkey’s contributions to her neighborhood and indeed the world. Turkey’s enterprising and humanitarian foreign policy acts on that premise and will continue to endeavor to secure our national interests and contribute to the common goals of humanity.

Turkey spares no effort to contribute to international cooperation to achieve world peace and prosperity. We have sought humane and peaceful solutions to issues of international concern. The recent one was in İdlib, Syria where Turkey’s resolute diplomatic efforts saved the lives of millions.

To give you an idea, Turkey is hosting 3,5 million refugees, being the largest refugee hosting country in the world. Turkey, spent over 30 billion Dollars to mitigate the wounds of these refugees. Turkey’s international humanitarian assistance reached over 6 billion Dollars last year, being the most generous country in the world according to its Gross National Income.

Turkey’s global reach will continue standing on the right side of history; helping the poor, weak or the oppressed, whomever or wherever they are.

Excellencies,

Thanks to the joint visions and the directives of President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Mr. Xi Jinping, Turkish-Chinese strategic cooperative relations is strengthening in all walks of life every single day.

The determination of both leaders to take this relationship to a new level has been well displayed in recent years by several high level contacts.

President Mr. Erdoğan and President Mr. Xi met five times in three years, the most recent one on the margins of the BRICS Summit.

This year has been a great success in our bilateral relations. The number of high-level visits reached a historic record high. We are also observing 2018 as the Turkish Tourism Year in China.Economic and trade relations steadily grow, while we strengthen our cooperation in the fields of education, science, technological development, infrastructure projects, agriculture, and other areas.

Turkey and China, once the Western and the Eastern gates of the Ancient Silk Road, are also tied again through Belt and Road.

Turkey and China have a strong and unique partnership with a bright future.

Taking this opportunity, I also would like to refer to the Turkish Tourism Year in China, which we observed throughout this year, by organizing many cultural activities promoting the tourism beauties of Turkey. Thanks to the efforts of both sides, the number of Chinese tourists who visited Turkey in the first 8 months of the year increased %88 with compared to the last year.

Please also mark your calendars for the upcoming closing ceremony of the Turkish Tourism Year, which will be held in National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing on 29 November 2018 with the participation of Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism.

We hope to see you there.

Thank you all for your participation.

Happy Republic Day !