Erdoğan highlights progress in year-end recap

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan capped off 2024 with a day-long social media campaign, outlining his government’s key achievements of the past year.

Sharing 239 infographics under 20 main headings, Erdoğan detailed initiatives spanning defense, education, economy and public welfare.

Beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing in three-minute intervals until the stroke of midnight, Erdoğan’s posts garnered significant attention online. In his first post of 2025, the president shared a video collage summarizing the highlights.

Among the notable actions announced, Erdoğan revealed a 50 percent increase in holiday bonuses for retirees, amounting to approximately 84 billion Turkish Liras distributed to 15.5 million beneficiaries. He also emphasized the government’s financial support for rural communities, citing 1.68 billion liras in grants and loans provided to 8,882 forest villager families.

Key infrastructure milestones included the completion of the final 70-kilometer section of the highway between the western cities of Aydın and Denizli, cutting travel time between the two cities from two hours to 55 minutes.

Erdoğan also highlighted advancements in defense, such as the addition of the cloud-based unmanned aerial vehicle BAHA to the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces and progress in submarine projects.

The president underscored efforts to strengthen the economy, noting a $14.4 billion inflow of portfolio investments and the provision of 41.9 billion liras in minimum wage support to nearly 1.5 million businesses.

On the social front, he highlighted the placement of 2,392 disabled individuals in public sector jobs, bringing total employment of disabled citizens in public institutions to over 70,000.

Erdoğan pointed to cultural and technological developments, such as the launch of an AI-based "smart library" project and the inauguration of the Istanbul Basketball Development Center. He also touted advancements in public diplomacy, including panels and programs held in the U.S., U.K., Azerbaijan, Hungary and Brazil.

On the international stage, Erdoğan reaffirmed Türkiye's role in humanitarian aid, announcing assistance to over 70 countries and supporting Palestinian communities with nearly 88,200 tons of aid. He highlighted efforts to combat illegal migration, reporting the arrest of 12,395 migrant smugglers in over 7,000 operations.

The president concluded with promises for the future, stating, “As we have done so far, we will continue to serve our nation in 2025, building the Century of Türkiye with projects and investments that will be etched in history.”