Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed that Ankara will continue working with Indonesia to rebuild Gaza and defend the Palestinian cause. In a joint press conference held on Thursday with his Indonesian counterpart, Prabowo Subianto, Erdogan praised Indonesia’s stance on the Palestinian issue, stressing that Ankara will continue to work with Indonesia in the coming period to rebuild Gaza and defend the Palestinian cause.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, Erdogan emphasized that Turkey continues its cooperation with Indonesia in all international forums, including the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the G20, the Group of Eight Developing Countries, and the MIKTA group. Erdogan said, “We have evaluated the steps that can be taken to increase the volume of trade between Turkey and Indonesia to the target of $10 billion in a balanced manner based on mutual benefit.”
Erdogan noted that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Indonesia, emphasizing that the historical relations between the two sides date back to four centuries. He added, “We have just signed documents in the fields of culture, disaster and emergency management, and communications, and we have agreed to further expand our cooperation in areas and sectors from the defense industry to contracting, and from healthcare and energy to the food sector.”
He also said, “We aim to strengthen relations between our two peoples by enhancing our cooperation in the fields of culture and education, and we are pleased to see the growing interest of Indonesian youth in scholarships to Turkey.”
For his part, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said that his country wants to stand side by side with Turkey to defend justice and truth in the world. He emphasized that the stance taken by Turkey and Turkish officials is very strong in defending the oppressed, especially the Palestinians. He said, “Many countries talk about democracy and human rights while children and mothers are being bombed and Palestinians are being killed in Gaza. Many countries act as if they are unaware and ignore the human rights violations in Gaza.”
He added, “Turkey has a firm position on this issue. We want to stand side by side with Turkey to defend justice and truth in this new, uncertain world.” Subianto noted that he was visiting Ankara not only as President of Indonesia, but also as a “dear friend and brother,” and that he would participate in the Antalya International Diplomatic Forum, scheduled to begin tomorrow, Friday.