Acting PM Davutoğlu to form new cabinet

ANKARA

AA Photo

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed outgoing Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) as acting prime minister, according to an announcement in the official gazette, moments after being sworn in as Turkey’s 12th head of state.  

Erdoğan was set to receive Davutoğlu at 8 p.m on Aug. 28 to appoint him to form a new Cabinet, which will be presented by the new prime minister on Aug. 29.

Following the ceremony that saw Erdoğan sworn in as Turkey’s new president at Parliament, Davutoğlu had an adhoc meeting with Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek.

 Davutoğlu bids farewell to Foreign Ministry

Ahmet Davutoğlu, elected as chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has bid farewell to his colleagues at the Foreign Ministry, saying active diplomacy would be his legacy at the ministry.

“I previously said I don’t want to see a passive diplomat. This legacy will go on,” Davutoğlu said, while addressing Foreign Ministry personnel on Aug. 28.

He asked the ministry to accelerate Turkey’s European Union membership process with the EU and demanded Turkey be more active and visible in international institutions.

While, praising the Foreign Ministry’s traditions, Davutoğlu said those traditions should continue with modernization.

“Turkey’s self-confidence in foreign policy increased,” Davutoğlu said, expressing his gratitude to his former personnel for their hard work during his term.

“The plane has become my home,” Davutoğlu said referring to his intense working schedule and adding he expects the new foreign minister to work at the same pace.

Undersecretary at the Foreign Affairs Ministry Feridun Sinirlioğlu, for his part, thanked Davutoğlu for advancing the personnel and the institution during his tenure.

Despite the country’s success in diplomacy in recent years, Davutoğlu acknowledged that Turkey had to confront the problems it faces on its borders. 

“There are at least seven or eight troubled countries in Turkey’s region. In order to become one of the top ten biggest economies in the world, Turkey needs to provide peace and stability in the region,” he said

In his speech, Davutoğlu also mentioned the Turkish consulate personnel in Mosul who were abducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levent (ISIL), saying he wished they were in Turkey and would come home very soon. 

Outgoing President Abdullah Gül will immediately leave Ankara and depart for Istanbul, where he plans to reside in the near future, after Erdoğan’s inauguration ceremony.