The new Cabinet of the executive presidential system met Friday for the first time under the chairmanship of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Prior to the meeting at the Beştepe Presidential Complex in Ankara, Erdoğan and the members of Cabinet attended the Friday prayer at the historic Hacı Bayram Veli Mosque and later gathered at Turkey's first Parliament building, which was established in 1920 in the capital Ankara.
"We take the first step of this historical transformation under this blessed roof," Erdoğan said in his speech. "Our Parliament will make the best laws, our cabinet will take the best decisions, our judiciary will work for justice, each segment of our nation will fulfill their responsibility in the best way possible, so that we will get Turkey above the contemporary civilization level," the president said, adding that he will not stop working until he builds a Turkey that has a bright future. The Cabinet meeting focused on the first and the second 100 days under the new government. Erdoğan and his Cabinet also determined the plans for Turkey's near future. Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın said in a press conference after the Cabinet meeting that the economy was one of the top issues discussed at the first Cabinet meeting. Kalın added that appointments in the ministries, newly established institutions and public offices will be revealed in the coming days. He underlined that Turkey's resolute battle against Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) will also continue in the new term.
Many Ministers of the Cabinet, except for Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, all attended a Cabinet meeting for the first time. Erdoğan unveiled the new 16-minister cabinet under the new presidential system Monday. Erdoğan announced Fuat Oktay, the former head of the Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), as the sole vice president. The new Cabinet is expected to work more efficiently with the new executive presidential system as sluggishness in bureaucracy will be reduced.
Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan honored former Premier and current parliament speaker Binali Yıldırım with an Order of Merit for his outstanding service to the country. In a ceremony held at the Presidential Complex Friday, Erdoğan presented Yıldırım the highest civilian award. "Thanks to our government's strong stance, terrorist PKK is suffocating and terror group FETÖ [Gülenist Terror Group] is at the end of its rope," Erdogan said during his speech. Parliament Speaker Binali Yıldırım also presented the Prime Ministry's seal to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. With the introduction of the new executive presidency system in Turkey after the June 24 elections, Yildirim became the last prime minister of the country.