President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that the Turkish nation was on the eve of a rebirth.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Turkey Youth Foundation (TUGVA) headquarters in Istanbul, Erdogan said: "As a nation we are on the eve of a new period; this is the period called rebirth, the period of re-rise."
He also said that the freedom of any individual or an ethnic or religious group had not deteriorated in Turkey in the last 16 years.
"In the last 16 years, the freedom of any individual, ethnic or religious group did not deteriorate in Turkey, their life was not interfered with," he said.
He added that an environment had been created where no one is discriminated against on the choice of their clothing or appearance.
"We are trying to lift the barriers between our youth and their dreams."
He said the "great Turkey ideal" should be put into practice.
"It is related to the region but it is definitely not related to expansionism," he added.
