Official Visit To Turkey
I was not sure whether it would be appropriate to address this audience, but after listening to those speeches I think it is high time a few words are said about some issues that I am sure we are all thinking about very deeply.
One can come here and talk about the relationship between the two countries and leave, and you would probably get some very good facts and figures about the size of our trade and the fact that it
has grown and the sectors which we can cooperate and so forth and so on…
But I think we would be ignoring the question that maybe a lot of you are thinking. And that is, what is going on in the Arab world today? Are our investments in the region safe? What is the long term prospect for a relationship with states in the Middle East? I think it is very important to note that we are witnessing the birth of a new Egypt. Now what it will look like? Nobody can tell you. And that frankly is for the Egyptians to decide for themselves.
But I can tell you what is happening in my country because I am sure you are wondering about us too. When His Majesty the King decided to launch his reform programme, over ten years ago today, he understood fundamentally that structural reform was needed if we really wanted to change the behaviour of people and the outcomes which we were seeing on a day to day basis. So what did he do? He instituted a bicameral parliamentary system, an independent judiciary, an independent Prosecutor General, ended the state security law, freed the press law, released all political prisoners, and called for all of those people who were internationally at that time to return and to join in the new job of rebuilding the country. It has been an interesting ten years. I have stood witness to it. I have participated in some of the most significant decisions taken during that time. I have always advocated for, and will continue to advocate for, a better life, a more just society, a more participatory process, and a more caring society to the rights of individuals.
So ladies and gentlemen, Bahrain has interesting challenges. It lives in a very interesting neighbourhood. We have, you know all of the nations that surround us. You know all of the wars that we have been next to over the last 20 years. Not everyone in my country is satisfied with all of the change that has occurred. Some people are scared that it moved too fast, others that it has moved too slow.
But what I do not think anybody can deny is that we are on the path and the trajectory of achieving our goal. When this great Republic, Turkey, was born or rose out of the ashes of the First World War, it was not until 1950 that you decided to open and liberalise your political system. And you do not need me to tell you how difficult that birth was. We are finally seeing the fruits due to the courageous leadership displayed today by the current government, of Prime Minister Erdogan and all of you. The fundamental truth reflected that when a society feels it is empowered to achieve it will exceed even your most wild expectations.
So I just want to reassure you. You may read stories now and again about the region, about Egypt, about Bahrain. But we are committed to remaining on the right side of history.
Our citizens, their rights, their freedoms, their beliefs, are a matter of concern to us. They will be protected and we will develop and we will progress. I have no doubt about it. And I myself commit my life to ensuring that that is the case. So I hope that you understand that the Middle East is really, I believe going to go through a very transformative process over the next decade or two. We want to take advantage of that. We are not scared, we understand the risks. It will not be easy, there will be setbacks. But I do hope that you will join us, believe in us, and we will do the same for you.
Thank you very much.
