Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed in a speech during his inauguration ceremony as President of Turkey that he would strengthen democracy in the country through a new, free, civil and comprehensive constitution, pointing out that the recent elections opened the doors of a new phase for the Turkish people.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed today, Saturday, work to strengthen democracy in Turkey with a new free, civil and comprehensive constitution, pointing out that the current constitution was the result of a military coup.
This came during a speech he delivered at the Turkish Presidential Complex in the capital, Ankara, as part of his inauguration ceremony, after taking the constitutional oath in Parliament.
Erdogan said that the recent elections opened the doors of a new phase for our people.
He added, "As the twelfth president of the Republic of Turkey, I will continue to defend the eternal brotherhood of our people, and work for the growth of our country and the advancement of our state."
Erdogan thanked the Turkish people for re-electing them as president for an additional 5 years, and stressed that "during the next five years, we will continue to work with determination to implement the vision of Turkey's century."
Erdogan also thanked the millions of oppressed people in the world who prayed for Turkey to be well and everyone who shared the country's joy.
Erdogan during his inauguration ceremony:
📌 As the 12th President of the Republic of Turkey, I will continue to defend the eternal fraternity of our people, and work for the growth of our country and the advancement of our state
📌 I thank God for allowing me to serve the Turkish people for an additional 5 years
📌 We believe that the recent elections opened the doors of a new phase for our people
The Turkish president stated that his government has set new goals, pledging to work with all its might to protect the glory and dignity of the Turkish Republic, increase its reputation and raise its name in the world over the next five years.
And he continued, "We will fulfill all the promises we made to our people in the electoral arenas, as we have done for the last 21 years."
Erdogan addressed the Turkish people, saying, "Today is the day of unity, solidarity, and the consolidation of our brotherhood that spans a thousand years. Today is the day of protecting the bright future of our children."
#Erdogan during his inauguration ceremony:
- We will embrace all our people, regardless of their political opinions, origins, beliefs or sects
- We will start a general mobilization to build bridges of brotherhood among all segments of society
Erdogan stressed the embracing of all the Turkish people, regardless of their political opinions, origins, beliefs or sects, explaining that Turkey needs, more than ever, unity and cohesion among all members of its people like a solid structure.
He stated that he will announce this evening the members of the new government, with which he will continue to formulate the features of the "Century of Turkey", as it will hold its first meeting on Tuesday.
Earlier today, Saturday, Erdogan took the constitutional oath before the General Assembly of the Turkish Parliament, to begin his duties in a new presidential term.
For Ceremony : Notable Arab participation in the inauguration ceremony of President Erdogan in Ankara
78 prominent international officials will participate in the inauguration ceremony of President Erdogan, including 21 heads of state and 13 prime ministers, in addition to a group of foreign ministers and heads of international organizations. While a remarkable Arab participation is noted.
The inauguration ceremony of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a new presidential term is witnessing a remarkable Arab presence, according to official Arab announcements.
And the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will attend the inauguration ceremony of President Erdogan "as mandated by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi," according to the foreign ministry's statement.
Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs Ayman Safadi will participate in the inauguration ceremony under the directives of Jordan's King Abdullah II.
And the head of the Omani State Council, Sheikh Abdul Malik bin Abdullah Al Khalili, arrived in the capital, Ankara, to participate in the inauguration ceremony, according to what was reported by the Oman News Agency.
The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated in a statement that its Minister Fuad Hussein will represent Iraq at the inauguration ceremony.
While Saleh Goujil, Speaker of the Algerian National Assembly, will represent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune at the inauguration ceremony, according to what was announced by the Algerian News Agency.
Today, Saturday, the inauguration ceremony of President Erdogan in the Turkish Parliament will take place in Ankara, to begin a new term that extends to the year 2028, after his victory in the second round of the presidential elections.
78 prominent international officials will participate in the inauguration ceremony of President Erdogan, including 21 heads of state and 13 prime ministers, in addition to a group of foreign ministers and heads of international organizations.
The Turkish President received the inauguration document from the Interim Speaker of Parliament, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, Devlet Bahceli. After that, he will go to the mausoleum of the founder of the republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and from there to the Presidential Complex, to participate in the "start-up" ceremony.
Upon his arrival at the presidential complex, the President's motorcade will be joined by the Knights of Ceremonies unit, and then 101 artillery shells will be fired, and at the same time 101 artillery shells will be fired at the headquarters of the land, air and naval forces.
The Presidential Symphony Orchestra, the Turkish Traditional Music Ensemble and the Military Music Ensemble of the Turkish Armed Forces will participate in the ceremony.
French website: The Kuwaiti ruling family refuses to settle with a French-Syrian businessman in a major corruption case
London - A French intelligence website revealed that the Kuwaiti ruling family refuses to settle with the French-Syrian businessman, Bashar Kiwan , who is involved in the corruption scandal, known as the Malaysian Sovereign Fund case, despite the emergence of a glimmer of hope for his acquittal after United Nations experts issued a statement stating that the prison sentence issued against him was illegal.
The “Intelligence Online” website said that the case is before the arbitration panel of the World Bank, and that Kiwan resorts to the recent ruling issued by the Panel on Arbitrary Detention of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which stipulated, earlier in May, that “His detention in Kuwait in 2017 was arbitrary.”
The website stated that the UN body called on Kuwait to investigate Kiwan's case and to grant him financial compensation.
He pointed out that on March 29, a Kuwaiti court sentenced the Syrian-French businessman, who now lives in exile in Paris, to 10 years in prison for his alleged involvement in the Malaysian fund scandal, along with the head of the fund, Jho Low.
According to the site, despite the conclusions of United Nations experts, the businessman is still involved in the case, and the Kuwaiti judge, Faisal Al-Harbi, issued a ruling obliging the former Malaysian fund head and Kuwaiti businessman, former Prime Minister, Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, to pay compensation of 145 million Kuwaiti dinars ( $470 million), plus a $1 billion recovery for alleged fraud.
In November 2017, the Kuwaiti Criminal Court issued a ruling to imprison Bashar Kiwan and others for a period of 5 years with labor and enforcement, on charges of forgery in the minutes of a company meeting, and before implementing the ruling, he managed to leave Kuwait through the Kuwaiti Abdali port to the city of Basra in Iraq, and from there To Beirut using his French passport, and finally to the Emirates.
Attempts to reach an amicable settlement with the Kuwaiti royal family were unsuccessful, despite the prosperity of his business after the launch of his media company, “Al Waseet International” in 1992, of which the son of Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah owns 20%, according to the site’s sources, who indicated that the head of The former Kuwaiti minister is determined to recover his lost funds, and is taking the case to the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, with support from French law firms Aceris Law and Miguérès Moulin.
In the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the case has been ongoing since last December, headed by the New Zealander, Wendy J. Miles. Which held several hearings, and since last April 14 has asked the parties to the case to provide documents.
The case of the Malaysian Fund is due to Kuwait accusing government officials, their children, and businessmen of laundering the Fund's money in favor of both Jho Low and former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak (2009-2018), who was convicted in Malaysia on charges of corruption and embezzlement.
The Syrian-French businessman and the “Bidun deal”
Muhammad Bashar Muhammad Bashir Kiwan was born to Syrian parents in Kuwait in 1967, and he studied in its schools, after which he left Kuwait to complete his university studies in order to obtain a master’s degree in economics from the University of Montpellier in France, and there he married a French woman and obtained French citizenship through her. By entering the world of commerce, he owned several companies working in the fields of advertising.
The name of the French-Syrian businessman appeared before that in 2015, when he was a mediator in what was called a deal to grant “without Kuwait” the citizenship of the Comoros, at the time. He is also being pursued there on charges of corruption and forgery.
The statements of the Director of the Nationality and Passports Department, Mazen Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, at the time, about the government’s agreement represented by the Central Agency for illegal residents “Bidoon” with an Arab country to grant them its nationality, were wide reactions at various levels from the “Bidoon”, jurists, legal and politicians, where he launched “Kuwaiti Bedoons (nationality) They also call themselves a hashtag called “Selling the Bedoons to an Arab Country” on Twitter in response to what Brigadier General Al-Jarrah said.
Al-Jarrah said, at the time, that there is a deal of agreement about to be finalized with an Arab country regarding what he called "illegal residents."
He stated that the head of the central apparatus, Saleh Al-Fadala, required the signature of the head of state, prime minister and parliament of the Arab country, “who did not reveal his name, to sign that agreement, which is still in the process of negotiations.”
He later clarified, after a wave of angry reactions to what he said, that he did not intend to deport them, but rather that they obtain the passport of that Arab country, so that the embassy would take care of them when they obtained residency.
And the news circulated a group of names of some Arab countries, with which it is likely that Kuwait had agreed to deport the Bedoons to it, so that it became clear after that that it was referring to the Comoros Islands.
The Kuwaiti Bidun activist Youssef Al-Asmi revealed, at the time, the plan was based on the Syrian businessman Bashar Kiwan and one of the sons of the ruling family with the Vice President of the Republic of the Comoros, in exchange for $ 10,000 per person for the Bidun, with investment facilities provided to them, and that the place of their settlement will be on the island of Mammut specifically so that the Comoros can regain it. From French colonialism and balancing the settlement of it.
He added that the Comorian parliament had rejected this deal twice, adding, however, after a Gulf state agreed to pay the amount, which rose to $15,000 per person, and to naturalize this Arab country for 10,000 people, the head of the Central Agency, Saleh al-Fadala, reintroduced the idea.
Al-Asmi said that the source of his information at the time was the son of the Lunar Minister of Islamic Affairs, Mustafa Madi, who was studying in Kuwait.
Defense & Security : China is taking advantage of Russia's retreat and US constraints and emerging as a major arms supplier in the Middle East
London – “Defense and Security Monitors” said in a report entitled “China exploits the opportunity to export weapons in the Middle East,” that China took advantage of Russia’s economic isolation imposed on it by the West and its involvement in the Ukraine war, and the US restrictions on arms imports ( related to human rights and other foreign policy issues), and increased its arms sales to countries in the Middle East, even among those that have fierce regional competition, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, for example.
The site concerned with military and security affairs confirmed that Beijing presents itself to the countries of the region as an alternative economic, political and defense partner, as it offers arms sales without asking questions, and with fewer restrictions, in contrast to the American approach in this regard.
The report stresses that China has succeeded in exploiting the various opportunities available to it, to appear recently as an important supplier of weapons to the countries of the Middle East, and that Beijing considers that every arms sale to a country that usually corresponds with Washington is a strategic gain, regardless of whether that country moves away from Washington's influence or not. no.
Rearming Iran
The report stated that Chinese (owned) arms companies expanded sales offers to Iran to provide military technology after the lifting of UN restrictions on Tehran in October 2020. He indicated
that these decades-old restrictions on Iran and its military forces, especially the Quds Force, are in stock Outdated weapons, weak and redesigned equipment.
In 2019, Iran reported that it had an $8 billion arms purchase list that needed to be implemented to resume new military operations, and China quickly provided a large number of drones, which were then distributed by the IRGC to Iranian proxies throughout Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. .
He confirmed that it had been revealed that several Chinese-made drones were used to carry out strikes against Saudi oil facilities and US military sites in southeastern Syria.
He stated that in March 2021, Beijing and Tehran concluded a strategic agreement calling for closer political, economic and military ties.
On the other hand, while Russia can meet some of Iran's needs for armaments, it is unable to meet Iran's requirements on a large scale at the present time.
For example, it is believed that Iran's purchase of Russian Su-35 fighter jets likely includes only about 24 aircraft, while the Iranian Air Force is believed to possess more than 150 combat aircraft that are in active operation, all of which are old and eventually need to be replaced.
Here, the report confirms that, in the absence of Russia, the Chinese industry becomes the only one that is technically and politically capable of meeting Iranian armament requirements.
There are reports circulating that China is ready to provide the J-10C fighter, as well as the less advanced FC-1 Xiaolong fighter, to Iran.
Meet Saudi requirements
The report notes that unlike Iran, Saudi Arabia enjoys positive relations with the United States with regard to arms exports, and this in turn makes Riyadh a more attractive political gain for China if its military requirements are met, which Washington is reluctant to supply to Riyadh.
The site stated that the United States has historically been reluctant to sell its unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) to countries other than its close allies, which did not initially include the Gulf states.
China took advantage of that opportunity, and filled the existing gap in Riyadh's capabilities in this regard, by introducing its own drones and ballistic missile systems, including the Wing Loong and CH-4.
After acquiring the drones, Saudi Arabia immediately began using them in their air campaign in Yemen. Moreover, Saudi Arabia relies on its ballistic missiles provided by China as a deterrent against Iran.
The report confirms that China has designed its offers to Saudi Arabia in line with Saudi industrialization goals. The recent missile cooperation focused on technology transfer and local production. He stated that the “Saqr” drone, produced locally in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, launches missiles of Chinese design. Additionally, there has been interest in the JF-17, a joint Pakistani-Chinese fighter jet, with possible plans to manufacture it in Saudi Arabia.
However, the report notes that Saudi Arabia's broader defense needs have generally been met by its Western partners. and that, despite the growing political tensions, the United States has demonstrated its commitment to remaining the main source of weapons in the region.
During the previous administration, led by Donald Trump, the United States proposed a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, including major investments in THAAD systems. And in August 2022, the Biden administration approved separate deals for the potential sale of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors to the United Arab Emirates and Patriot interceptors to Saudi Arabia, worth $5.3 billion.
Preferred alternative
The site's report, authored by Dan Darling, Derek Besaccio and Aja Melville, concluded that by offering reasonable prices, flexible payment options and guaranteed delivery to the end user, China has steadily developed a customer base across the developing world.
And that as China continues to rise as a global power, it is gradually taking over the role once occupied by Russia as the preferred alternative to Western industry as an arms supplier.
Weapon sales often lead to long-term relationships, as buyers not only acquire new equipment, but also require future maintenance and upgrades.
He concludes that Russia inadvertently handed over the torch to China, which paved the way for it to become the next major power capable of competing with the United States for global influence.