Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said regional and international cooperation were of great importance in the fight against terrorism and that no distinctions should be made between terror groups.
Speaking at the 15th summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization, Erdogan said that the peace, stability and regional development would gain momentum once the region is cleared of terror groups such as YPG/PKK, Daesh/ISIS, and Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) contains great potential for the development of member countries,Erdogan noted.
Erdogan also delivered remarks on the economic potential of the region, impact of COVID-19 worldwide, the issue of Cyprus as well as terrorism.
“We should make more use of the high potential offered by our geography, which has a population of approximately 500 million in an area of 8 million square kilometers (3.09 million square miles),” Erdogan said.
"We must intensify our efforts to increase our trade volume to the level of $100 billion; in this context, we first must put into effect the trade agreement, ECOTA, which is among the strategic goals of the 2025 Vision document," he added.
Stressing that the agreement, which has not been implemented for 17 years, was the main instrument that could help reach the intra-regional goals, Erdogan said that the Istanbul-based ECO Bank could function efficiently to develop member countries once its institutional and financial capacities are enhanced.
Furthermore, the president noted that the improvement of the transport infrastructure within the region along with efforts to revive the Silk Road were ongoing at full pace.
