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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared his recent trip to the United States "very, very successful" on Monday, dismissing opposition criticism of his visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
Speaking to reporters following a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan said his discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump were productive and that "we will see the positive results in the coming days."
The Turkish leader said he and Trump discussed reaching a $100 billion bilateral trade target during their meeting. The two presidents also addressed the Gaza crisis, the Russia-Ukraine war, regional developments and maintaining stability in Syria, according to Erdogan.
"The reason the opposition is trying to discredit our U.S. visit in a state of hysteria is because the visit was extraordinarily successful," Erdogan said.
Erdogan used his address to the U.N.'s 80th General Assembly to highlight what he described as atrocities in Gaza, stating that the violence has evolved beyond genocide into mass slaughter. He presented statistics and photographs documenting 23 months of continuous suffering in the Palestinian territory.
"Everyone accepts that Netanyahu, increasingly cornered by corruption investigations, is dragging the region and even the world into fire in order to protect his seat," Erdogan said.
The Turkish president noted that 10 Western countries announced recognition of Palestine during the General Assembly, bringing the total number of nations recognizing Palestinian statehood to 158. He called the recognition by two Security Council members — Britain and France — "extremely important."
Erdogan attended a Gaza meeting that included Trump and regional leaders, which he described as highly productive. "We put on the table what we can do to stop the bloodshed in Gaza," he said.
The president announced a major social housing initiative, saying the government has launched plans to build 500,000 social housing units across all 81 provinces. Special quotas will be allocated for martyrs' families, veterans, retirees, young people and families with three children.
For the first time, the state Housing Development Administration (TOKİ) will offer rental housing options under favorable terms, Erdogan said, adding that "low-income families will hopefully find relief."
He also announced an expansion of the İŞKUR Youth Program, increasing the quota from 100,000 to 150,000 students due to high demand. The government aims to have 1 million students benefit from the program by the end of 2028.
The Cabinet reviewed a comprehensive action plan to combat illegal online betting, games of chance and gambling, Erdogan said. The initiative, prepared under the leadership of Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, involves security agencies, the judiciary and Türkiye's financial crimes investigation board.
"We are aware that the root of this scourge, which has trapped many people and extinguished many homes, must be eradicated," Erdogan said. "Despite the difficulty posed by the lack of control in the digital realm, we will tackle the issue of virtual gambling and illegal betting with all our capacity."
Addressing criticism of aircraft purchases, Erdogan defended Turkish Airlines' expansion plans, noting that the national carrier has grown dramatically since 2002. The airline served 10.4 million passengers with a fleet of 65 aircraft flying to 103 destinations in 2002, he said. By the end of 2024, those figures reached 85 million passengers, 520 aircraft and 350 destinations. The airline's 2025 target is to carry more than 90 million passengers.
The president also paid tribute to poet and writer Yavuz Bulent Bakiler, a recipient of the Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Award, who died Sunday.
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