“Member states should stick by the founding principles and strengthen the Alliance. The Alliance should assume an active role wherever the security umbrella of NATO is needed, from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, Europe to Asia. It is an era of sharing the burden, not of evading responsibilities. NATO should undertake more effective initiatives particularly in the face of global challenges,” Erdoğan said.

Stating that the world is going through a period during which drastic changes take place in the global economic and security architectures, Erdoğan said: “The influence and responsibility of regional actors in decision-making processes are increasing each passing day. The coronavirus pandemic, which has for the past one and a half years set the agenda of humanity, has further accelerated this process of change. The pandemic, described as the biggest health crisis of this century, has once again laid bare the structural problems and gaps in the global system.”

Underscoring that the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic are seen nearly in every sphere of life, Erdoğan stated: “We witness the aftershocks of the pandemic in a wide range of fields, from economy and trade to social movements and public security. We see that just like the pandemic, instability and such racist trends as Islamophobia and xenophobia spread to every corner of the world. While democracy and democratic values are damaged, problem-solving mechanisms lose their functionalities. The perception of being excluded by the international community pushes poor countries, those on the peripheries of the system, in particular, to become introverted. Putting conditions on aids to less developed and developing countries, whose economies have worsened due to the pandemic, undermines the belief in justice and equity as well.”

“Member states should stick by the founding principles and strengthen the alliance”

Stressing that it further deteriorates the pandemic-related economic problems that particularly the developed countries resort to protectionist measures at a time when the need for recovery in the global economy is the most urgent, Erdoğan said: “We once again face the fact that none of us is safe until all of us are safe. This state of the world has once again shown the importance of the spirit of alliance and solidarity, on which NATO has been built.”

Drawing attention to NATO’s growing role and responsibility in the preservation of global stability, Erdoğan said: “Member states should stick by the founding principles and strengthen the Alliance. The Alliance should assume an active role wherever the security umbrella of NATO is needed, from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, Europe to Asia. It is an era of sharing the burden, not of evading responsibilities. NATO should undertake more effective initiatives particularly in the face of global challenges.”