Your Excellency Mr. President, Esteemed First Lady,

Honourable Heads of State and Government,

Distinguished Guests,

Welcome to Antalya, which has been cradle of civilizations for thousands of years.

The Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which we are organising the third edition this year, has already become an important brand and a platform to exchange views on diplomacy, highlighting diversities and real problems.

We are glad to host here statespersons, opinion leaders, academics, business leaders, members of the media, and the youth.

The Antalya Diplomacy Forum is willing to be a platform, that;

- embraces each and every issue and aspires to reflect the common sense and consciousness of humanity,

- prioritizes diplomacy and solidarity among states and societies,

- provides a venue where people from different cultures can discuss their problems in their own words and from their own perspective; and where different continents can exchange views with each other,

- promotes inclusiveness over polarization, and common sense over tensions.

It is our sincere belief that together with you, our Esteemed Guests, we will achieve the goals of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

Your Excellency Mr. President, Distinguished Guests,

International relations are increasingly becoming more multidimensional and involve multi-stakeholders.

Traditional diplomacy used to be limited to State-to-State relations and was carried out only by diplomats.

Today, diplomacy has gone beyond inter-State relations.

New actors, new methods, new platforms and even new issues have transformed diplomacy.

What has remained unchanged, however, is the need for diplomacy.

Today, many areas, from economy to security, from technology to energy, from transportation to culture have become the main subjects of diplomacy.

While a multipolar international system is becoming more prominent, efforts to achieve results through hard power are increasingly coming to the fore.

From Africa to Latin America, from Europe to Asia and the Middle East, there is a growing need to achieve and obtain sovereignty, prosperity and security through reconciliation.

For this reason, we have set the main theme of this year's Antalya Diplomacy Forum as “Advancing Diplomacy in Times of Turmoil ”.

We have prepared an intensive and comprehensive program for you.

In the course of the forum, while we discuss the issues that are of close concern to the participating countries and the international community, we will at the same time debate the prospects for a more peaceful and prosperous future, from a strategic point of view.

Your Excellency Mr. President,

Distinguished Guests,

As you know, the current international order does not generate peace or stability. Nor does it generate justice or equality.

It is obvious that at a time when strong institutions and partnerships are needed, the international system is steadily weakening.

In today’s international order, every single day we witness incidents which demonstrate that "might is right" and injustices continue in every sphere.

However, we know that no order can be sustainable if it is not based on justice.

Certainly, there are countries with principles that are aware of this deteriorating trajectory and raise their voices for global justice.

Justice is a notion that has a profound place in our tradition.

Türkiye constructively contributes to the resolution of problems and displays a principled and effective stance in the midst of crises and conflicts.

Under the leadership of H.E. President, our long standing foreign policy aims to establish a belt of peace, stability and prosperity, starting from our near abroad.

As we have all been witnessing for a long time, our President, with all his sincerity and persistence, has been striving, in all his power, for the establishment of an effective, just and inclusive international order that will eliminate global injustices.

Your Excellency Mr. President,

Distinguished Guests,

Loss of legitimacy and the inefficiency in the international system cause more violence and brutality.

Therefore, we have no time to lose.

We need diplomacy immediately, we need it now.

The unfolding events in Gaza is the most evident sign of the legitimacy crisis of the international system.

The snapshot of Gaza today displays a catastrophic moment where the hypocrisy of the international system cannot be concealed.

Today, the American soldier who set himself on fire because he could no longer bear his complicity in the massacre in Gaza is an explicit sign of the legitimacy crisis of the international system.

We also notice that the people of the West with honour are no longer indifferent to this atrocity.

Picasso had immortalized with his artwork the massacre in the city of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War in Spain.

For the first time since 1937, sirens went off in Guernica, this time for Palestine.

People worldwide call for a ceasefire. The global conscience calls for ceasefire.

The Muslim World is protesting, the Global South is protesting, people with conscience in the West are protesting.

Everyone who upholds human values calls for the end of the massacre in Gaza.

But the perpetrators of the massacre are blind and deaf to this outcry ...

Today, when we talk about "the crisis of the international system", we are not referring to an abstract concept.

We are talking about a reality in which the cries of the oppressed, the cries of those who demand justice, day by day, moment by moment, are the nails on the coffin of this system that can no longer produce solutions.

We are talking about a death of conscience, a loss of legitimacy where even mourning for the victims and the oppressed is punished, where being human is a crime.

In order to prevent the repeat of the violence in Gaza, we need to take all the required steps. What needs to be done should be done now.

From the first day of the crisis, we have been continuing our efforts at all levels in order to put an immediate end to the violence against the people of Gaza.

Since the beginning of the crisis, we have been underlining that we are ready to assume responsibility together with the countries of the region, including guarantorship.

We, as the Gaza Contact Group, will discuss alternative solutions and how to stop the bloodshed in this afternoon.

Your Excellency Mr. President,

Distinguished Guests,

Another reflection of the crises in the international system is the Russia-Ukraine War, now in its third year.

At the current phase of the war, we need to seriously look into the ways to bring the parties together.

As Türkiye, we are ready as ever as before to make every effort to facilitate peace negotiations.

At the same time, we continue our work to restore the safety of navigation in the Black Sea and to ensure the safety of the grain trade.

Your Excellency Mr. President,

Distinguished Guests,

The global system remains incapable of solving regional problems, because the interests of the hegemons are prioritized.

For this reason, with an understanding based on regional ownership, Türkiye is pioneering the efforts to solve the problems in its region by incorporating new methods, actors and platforms.

The international system has failed for many years to provide a solution to the crisis in Syria.

Türkiye has launched the Astana Process with the sense of regional ownership. This helped to mitigate the outcomes of the conflict and to discuss the way towards a political solution.

The conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia is very close to be resolved, thanks to regional ownership initiatives.

On the basis of our efforts for regional cooperation and integration, we supported the gathering of the Turkic world on an institutional ground through the Organization of Turkic States.

Energy and connectivity projects are another dimension of regional ownership.

In this regard, we prioritize the projects that focus on needs of the region rather than those imposed globally.

We support initiatives such as TANAP, TAP, “Trans-Caspian East-West-Middle Corridor” and the Development Road Project.

Fight against terrorism is another issue that requires regional solidarity and cooperation.

We regret to see that a joint position cannot be adopted against the threat of terrorism, which manifests itself in different forms in various continents.

Under these circumstances, acting with common wisdom and through regional cooperation has become more important in the fight against terrorism.

Türkiye maintains its unwavering support to the efforts in the Middle East and Africa to combat terrorism.

Your Excellency Mr. President,

Distinguished Guests,

We attach importance to our collaboration with regional cooperation mechanisms, particularly the African Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League, the European Union, ASEAN, CELAC, the Economic Cooperation Organization and the Organization of Turkic States.

We put all efforts to strengthen our friendships and cooperation beyond our near abroad and to take full advantage of diplomacy for this purpose.

We are deepening our relations with the countries in the African continent, which holds special place in our foreign policy. We have developed a comprehensive cooperation on the basis of mutual respect and equal partnership.

We have an intensive cooperation with African countries, from security to health.

We have thousands of years of historical, cultural and humanitarian ties with the Asian continent.

We promote our relations with the Asian countries through a comprehensive and multidimensional approach, within the framework of the Asia Anew Initiative.

The ties between our peoples are strengthening day by day on the basis of a sound ground established under our Latin America and Caribbean Opening Policy.

We strive to amplify, on multilateral platforms, the voices of our friends in all these geographies, who are affected by climate change, debt burden, food security crisis and problems in development.

Your participation in our Forum from different corners of the world shows that all these efforts have borne fruit.

I believe that the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in addition to the new perspectives it will bring to international relations, will pave the way for the realization of new practices.

The Forum is different from similar platforms around the world by being open to diversities, by its comprehensiveness and by producing regional solutions to global crisis areas.

The Antalya Diplomacy Forum is not a monolithic, monotonous platform where the same notes are played with different instruments. It strives to be a platform where,

- The reality we live in is discussed,

- Different approaches are voiced,

- Different experiences are shared, and

- Different world imaginations compete for the common good.

It strives to be a forum which endeavours to share our views and negotiate based on our very distinct perspectives.

Diplomacy will only find its true place when these differences are discussed.

With these feelings and thoughts;

- I would like to express our gratitude to His Excellency Mr. President for the strong support he has given to the Antalya Diplomacy Forum from the very beginning and his auspices.

- I would also like to thank Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu for his great contribution for the Forum,

- I wish the Forum great success and,

- And I greet you all with respect.