ISTANBUL/JOHANNESBURG

The Turkish president on Saturday said that deep-rooted international cooperation, sustainable supply chains, and new policy tools are all needed to revive global trade.

Addressing a G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the challenges the world faces today affect not only the least-developed countries but all economies, arguing that trade's contribution to global growth has weakened over time.

"We consider it important to strengthen international trade rules in a way that supports development and, in particular, to reaffirm our commitment to the principle of special and differential treatment under the World Trade Organization," he underlined.

Ankara supports fair treatment in debt restructuring processes

Erdogan said the total debt ratio worldwide has reached 324% of global GDP, while in Türkiye it stands at around 89%.

"This relatively low level of indebtedness provides us with significant fiscal space both to accelerate structural transformation and to allocate additional resources for investments. Unfortunately, most low-income economies do not have this advantage.

"These countries are effectively trapped between high financing costs and shrinking fiscal space," he said.

Erdogan expressed Ankara’s support for adopting an approach based on fair and equal treatment in debt restructuring processes, especially for low-income countries.

"I invite the entire G20 to assume greater responsibility in building a more inclusive global economy where no one is left behind," he added.

He said total global development aid, which fell to 9% in 2024, is expected to decline by as much as 17% in 2025, which signals "significant losses" for Africa.

Türkiye places particular importance on developing financing models for sustainable development, especially in the least-developed countries, by mobilizing local resources, he highlighted.

Later in the day, Erdogan, alongside other world leaders, took part in the summit's family photo. He briefly chatted with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka, who were standing next to him in the photo.

The Turkish president is in Johannesburg for the summit, a two-day event that began on Saturday and focuses on addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.

'Türkiye prioritizes not only regional but also global solidarity'

The president said in his speech that Ankara acts with the understanding of “not going to bed with a full stomach while our neighbor is hungry,” Türkiye's Communications Director Burhanettin Duran said online following the president's speech.

"This approach once again demonstrates that Türkiye prioritizes not only regional but also global solidarity," Duran said on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

In a period of rapidly changing economic balances, this policy, "which prioritizes humanitarian responsibility," strengthens Ankara's position in the global community and creates an exemplary model that contributes to sustainable development goals, he added.