Turkish president hails the coming of the "Turkish century"

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the positive impact of the economic measures taken by his administration will soon be witnessed, while the crisis in developed economies is just beginning.

Addressing a crowd in Turkey's western province of Kutahya on the occasion of the centennial of the defeat of the Greek army in the Turkish war of independence, Erdogan said:

"Turkey will emerge, and it already emerges indeed, with minimum losses out of the global storm thanks to the changes in its economic model, implemented years beforehand as it made a choice in favor of employment and production. Hopefully, we will be able to see much better the positive impact of the measures we had taken, the result of the policies we had begun to implement after the new year's eve; their positive impact on the daily lives of our people."

He continued:

"Our greatest strength is our unity and brotherhood. The real crisis of those countries whose citizens have been made accustomed to living under a protection of security and welfare, on the other hand, is just beginning. We will see how they will begin to stagger helplessly when social unrest accompanies rising unemployment, caused by failures in production and supply, and fluctuations in finance. We continue to move forth in our path despite small tremors."

He added:

"Some small-minded people mocked at us 11 years ago, when we announced the 2023 objectives, which we dedicated to our nation, to mark the centennial of the foundation of the Republic. We achieved these objectives step by step despite all the things we had to live through. Now, with the stimulus of these achievements, we are working on our 2053 vision. Our ideals for 2071 will follow. As we have said so many times, we are determined to make this century a Turkish century."