World should create together ‘more balanced, fairer, inclusive system', says Turkish president

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday said that there is no institutional mechanism in the world that could protect the oppressed and stop oppressors.

"We must work together for the creation of more balanced, fairer and inclusive system," Erdogan said at the global 1st Albaraka Summit in Istanbul, titled Global Prospects for Islamic Economics: Fundamentals and Needs.

He said that the global system must be redesigned with all its elements in line with today's realities.

Underlining that the international system has lost its balance, uncertainty has increased, and instability and chaos have become dominant, Erdogan said: "The Russia-Ukraine war broke out before the rubble of the destruction caused by the coronavirus pandemic was removed, and the Gaza crisis followed on October 7.”

"The mass killings committed by Israel in Gaza in front of the eyes of all humanity for nearly eight months have revealed the impotence of the global order and shaken the trust in existing institutions," he added.

Emphasizing that the “unjust and distorted” character of the structures responsible for maintaining order in the world, especially the UN Security Council, has once again emerged, Erdogan said: "The institutions that have been told to us for years as the guarantee of global security have shown a great weakness."

He said: "As Türkiye, we have been drawing attention to this situation for a long time. We have been saying that the global system needs to be redesigned with all its elements in line with today's realities.""Our statement that 'the world is bigger than five' shows the urgent need to change the system. With the Russia-Ukraine war and the Gaza genocide, this has become inevitable," he said.

"We have to see and accept this: Borders and distances cannot protect us as the world has turned into a gigantic village," Erdogan added.

“If people are dying of starvation in Africa despite all the underground resources, if blood continues to flow in Syria, Sudan and Yemen, if 35,600 innocent people are mercilessly massacred in Gaza, if the Mediterranean, the cradle of civilization, has turned into a refugee graveyard, if thousands of hopeful travelers breathe their last breath in deserts and mountains every year, with all due respect, no one can feel safe, no one can sleep with peace of mind at night,” he said.

The two-day event, which will end on Saturday, hosts around 1,500 people, including high-profile officials from Türkiye and abroad.

Erdogan said many topics, including the Islamic economy and its moral principles, Islamic investment instruments, sustainable growth, profit-oriented enterprises and concepts of waqf and zakat, will be discussed at the event.

"It is also important that such a summit is organized in our country,” he said.

“Türkiye, which has historically served as a commercial and humanitarian bridge between East and West, has started to play the same role between financial markets," the Turkish president said.

The Istanbul Finance Center, which Türkiye opened last year, has become a symbol of the country's efforts and vision, he added.

Erdogan said that international investors have confirmed that Istanbul has great potential in finance and Islamic finance.

"The Albaraka Summit will hopefully support our efforts to elevate Istanbul's position as a regional financial center to the global level," he added.