I extend my congratulations to our citizens living in Turkey and abroad, and to all our friends who share this proud day with us, which is one of the golden rings of our glorious history, on the occasion of the 29 OctoberRepublic Day.

I commemorate Ghazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of our Republic, and his heroic comrades-in-arms with gratitude on the 98th anniversary of its proclamation.

I wish the mercy of Allah the Almighty upon our holy martyrs who entrusted this homeland to us at the cost of their lives.

I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of myself, my country and my nation to our veterans who were honoured with the title of war veterans while fighting for the same blessed cause.

I would like to thank all our deputies who have served our country under the roof of The Grand National Assembly of Turkey, from the First Assembly until today, as distinguished representatives of the national will and who have paid the price when necessary.

I implore Allah the Almighty to grant success to our security forces, who selflessly perform their duties at our frontiers and within our borders for the perpetuity of Turkey, and the serenity, security and well-being of our esteemed nation.

I would like to congratulate wholeheartedly our businesspeople, non-governmental organizations and civil servants who proudly wave our glorious flag in all corners of the world.

With the strength we get from our deep-rooted history and long-established values, we, as 84 million people, being one and together, continue our efforts to aggrandize Turkey and steer it towards reaching its goals.

Thanks to the strength and capacity of our health infrastructure, we have successfully managed and left behind the most severe phase of the coronavirus pandemic that has deeply shaken the whole world.

Likewise, in 2020, when the global economy experienced a contraction of more than 3 percent, we ended the year with a growth rate of 1.8 percent.

We have not allowed any weakness to occur in any matter, ranging from the fight against terrorism to public security, from investments to the operations we have carried out beyond our borders.

In this process, our strong support to our Libyan brothers who are facing attacks from coup plotters, and to the Azerbaijani Turks who were fighting against the occupation in Karabakh has, thanks be to Allah, changed the fate of both countries.

While the coup plotters were defeated in Libya, our Azerbaijani brothers also regained their own territories after nearly 30 years of occupation.

We have also foiled the attempts to exclude our country and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus from the hydrocarbon resources in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Despite the difficult epidemic conditions, these successes we have achieved in economy, domestic politics and foreign policy are important signs that show the effectiveness of the Presidential Government System, as well as the strong infrastructure of our country.

We have been carrying on thismomentumwe have gained last year, also in 2021, by further strengthening it, thanks be to Allah, in all areas, starting with the economy, production and exports.

As the 100th anniversary of our Republic now clearly appears in the horizon, we will not allow any power, dirty scenario, insidious attack aiming to stumble Turkey, todeterus from our path.

As a nation, we will fight for the realization of our cause for a great and strong Turkey, by clinging on to our unity, togetherness and brotherhood, which are our greatest assurances.

In this holy struggle we carry on, the will of steel, which led the national struggle to victory and gave life to our Republic, will continue to be our guide today, as it has been for the last 98 years.

With these thoughts, I would like to congratulate our 29 October Republic Day once again and wish our nation health, serenity and well-being.

May the souls of our martyrs rest in peace!

Happy 98th anniversary to our Republic!

Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN

President of Turkey