Agreement Signing Ceremony and Joint Press Conference with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung

I would like to extend my warmest greetings to all of you with all my heart and respect. First of all, I would like to welcome you to my dear friend and valuable committee. After I started my mission in June, I sent a message to the President to congratulate me. We had a phone call. He met with the difficulties of life at a very young age. He walked the path he knew was right with determination. He is a leader who has earned the support of the Korean people with the services he has done for his country. I wish you success in your mission to the President. After many years, we are also pleased to have a state visit from South Korea to the President. I believe that we have strengthened the strong ties between Turkey and South Korea through this visit. Koreans like us also make Turkey a brother country, which makes us happy. As you know, we fought shoulder to shoulder on the same front in the Korean War and became blood brothers. As Turkey, we sent nearly 23,000 soldiers to the lands thousands of kilometers away 75 years ago. On this occasion, we remember our martyrs and late veterans with mercy. We also salute our Korean veterans who are alive with respect and gratitude. The President and his delegation will leave a mark on the memory of the Turks who fought in Korea in Ankara tomorrow. I would also like to thank them for their sensitive and gentle approach. As you know, we started our diplomatic relations with South Korea in 1957. In 2012, we established a strategic partnership between our countries. In 2027, we will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic relations. God willing, we will celebrate this important milestone with events and visits that we will organize together in various areas. Distinguished Press Members, Today, we held comprehensive discussions on all aspects of our bilateral relations with my dear friend. From trade to tourism, from energy to the defense industry, from infrastructure to transportation, from science and technology to mutual investments, we have achieved cooperation opportunities in many areas. Artificial intelligence, semi-transmitters and battery technologies have a serious potential in innovation and renewable energy areas. Today, another important document was signed between our private sectors that envisages cooperation in the field of wind energy. In addition, our Korean friends have agreed to implement a joint project in the field of blood plasma. Our second largest trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea, has reached a trade volume of $15 billion, which we had previously determined. We have already exceeded the $10 billion limit with joint efforts. We also drew attention to the need to consider our free trade agreement for more balanced trade relations. We are very pleased that the Hyundai company will produce electric vehicles with its new investment in its factory in Izmit. With this investment, our domestic and national brand will start a new production process in our country that will be completely domestic and electric. We reiterate that we will provide all kinds of support to Korean companies that will invest in our country and supply production. Our strategic partner, South Korea, has also signed important projects in the defense industry so far. Our 6-month tank project is one of the most successful examples of this. The delivery of our national tanks to our army started last month. We aim to diversify joint projects in this area. In our bilateral talks, we discussed the possibility of taking many steps towards the defense industry in the future. In addition, talks are ongoing between our relevant institutions on the establishment of a nuclear power plant. I see the agreement signed between the Korean Electric Company and the Turkey Nuclear Energy Anonymous Company as an important step. We are also in agreement on fighting terrorism with South Korea. Dear friends, In addition to our bilateral relations with the President, we also discussed regional and international issues including Palestine, Ukraine, Syria, and the Korean Peninsula. We are also in agreement on continuing our cooperation on international and regional platforms, especially the United Nations G20 and MECTA. On this occasion, I would like to state that we appreciate the MECTA Presidency, which South Korea has successfully continued. At the G20 Summit, the MECTA Presidency was held by the President. We had a chance to meet him regarding the delivery of the device. We also took a family photo there. We are very pleased that South Korea has established diplomatic relations with Syria in April. We believe that we can work together in different regions, including Syria, Gaza and Ukraine, including Iraq, Africa and Central Asia. We support the continuation of the ceasefire in Turkey and South Korea, the non-murder of innocent people and the two-state solution in Gaza. The establishment of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state in East Jerusalem on the borders of 1967 is the basic condition for a just and sustainable peace. In this context, we expect Turkey to recognize the Palestinian State from all friends, brothers and allies who have not yet taken this step. We have never changed our attitude towards taking diplomatic steps at the negotiating table of the parties in connection with Ukraine. As you have followed, I had meetings with both Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Putin in the past week. As Turkey, we will continue to support all diplomatic efforts to ensure permanent peace, especially the Istanbul process. Dear members of the press, As you know, today is November 24 Teachers' Day in our country. We learned that the President's dear friend is also a piano teacher. His wife was also here. They came together. On this occasion, I celebrate the Teachers' Day of our teachers in our country and Mrs. Teacher. I thank you once again for your kind visits to the President. I send my warmest greetings to all the Korean people. Now I leave the floor to the President. Hello. First of all, thank you for this invitation. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to President Erdogan and the people of Turkey for your warm hospitality. Turkey's participation in the Korean War in the 75th anniversary and the first year of my presidency I am very pleased to visit Turkey, a brotherly country, this year. Despite the fact that there are no diplomatic relations between Turkey and Korea during the Korean War, Our friendship with Cannes has formed a solid foundation for the establishment of diplomatic relations and the rapid development of bilateral relations since 1950. On this solid foundation, Korea and Turkey have increased their relations to a strategic level in 2012, and cooperation between our political, economic, cultural and human rights has been constantly deepened in a broad area. Turkey, which is located at the intersection of Europe and Asia, has come to a solid position in the opening of the Korean companies to the European market. Today, we evaluated the agendas of the two partnerships based on our friendship with President Erdogan. We have taken a comprehensive approach to the issue of moving to a level based on future and mutual interests in our strategic environment. We have also taken a comprehensive approach to the issues of cooperation between the two countries in the various regional and international agendas. In this process, both countries have made efforts to come to a stronger position in the field of defense industry, and we are determined to continue our joint cooperation in the field of defense, such as joint production, technology cooperation and education. As in the six-month main battle tank project, we expect to increase the number of successful cooperation examples, to upgrade the capacity of both countries in the defense industry, and to contribute to the preservation of regional and global peace and security. In the Sino-Nuclear Central project, we agreed that the two governments will provide the necessary information and support for the negotiation and evaluation process to proceed without any problems. I hope that Korea's advanced nuclear technology and high-capacity security operations will make a solid contribution to Turkey's nuclear energy development process. In the field of biotechnology, we are pleased with the participation of the Korean company SK Plasma in the project carried out to achieve the goal of local production in Turkey's blood products. Considering the brotherhood ties between the two countries, the meaning of this project is even greater for us. With this in mind, I would like to thank President Erdogan once again for his interest in the participation of the Korean company in the project. In the infrastructure sector, we evaluated our joint efforts in projects such as the Çanakkale Bridge and the Avrasya Tunnel. In order to strengthen our joint efforts in the infrastructure sector, the Land-Based Projects Cooperation Agreement was signed during this visit. We hope that our joint efforts in the infrastructure sector will be further strengthened in the future. In addition, we are committed to deepening our strategic joint efforts in the fields of advanced science and technology, including renewable energy and artificial intelligence. In this regard, I welcome the cooperation agreement signed between the Korean company CS Wind and Turkey in the field of wind energy. With this in mind, I hope that our joint efforts in the field of renewable energy will be further strengthened in the future. In addition, in order to fully evaluate the progress in these various fields, we agreed to restart the Karma Economic Commission meeting between the two countries ten years later. We think it is a little late, but there is a saying that when it is late, it is the earliest time. President Erdogan emphasized that if the cooperation is late, it is the same as not doing it at all. Therefore, he said that it is very important to do everything early and quickly, and I fully agree with him. President Erdogan and I have been in talks on regional and global issues, including the Korean Peninsula. I would like to thank President Erdogan and the Turkish government for their constant support for our government's policy against North Korea. We also welcome President Erdogan and Turkey's efforts to promote peace in the Middle East. In addition, I find it extremely important that Korea has decided to increase human resources in order to contribute to the solution of the Syrian refugee problem in Turkey. At the same time, we are ready to further strengthen the ties between the peoples, which are the most fundamental for bilateral relations. In addition, we are ready to further strengthen the ties between the peoples, which are the most fundamental for bilateral relations. In Turkey, Korean culture is spreading rapidly to the Korean language on digital platforms such as Netflix. I am also very pleased that interest in Turkish cuisine, culture and art is increasing in Korea. In addition, thanks to Turkey's rich tourism resources and Korean cultural attractiveness, the number of tourists between the two countries continues to increase steadily. We have positively evaluated the increasing human-to-human contact between the two countries. With the activities of our cultural centers and the programs that support Turkish students who receive higher education in Korea, we hope that the communication between young generations will be strengthened in a mutual understanding. We will continue to strengthen our solidarity on the issue of veterans and martyrdom. As part of my visit, I believe that the cooperation on veterans and martyrdom will contribute to the establishment of support for the Korean War veterans and their families. We have confirmed that our friendship with blood and our strategic environment will be strengthened day by day and will be transferred to new generations. As the Korean Republic is Turkey's brother country, we are determined to do our best to implement the agendas discussed at the summit. In this context, we will try to strengthen the strategic environment and the middle strategy of the two countries, and I believe that this will be a foundation for our cooperation in the future. Mr. President, I wish the Turkish people health, happiness and prosperity and that the friendship between the two countries will not change. Turkey, thank you. Thank you.