President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Thursday that disabled people are a vital part of social life, pledging more steps to facilitate their integration.

“Our disabled brothers, who prove that they are an integral part of our society by showing themselves in all areas of life, also make us proud with their successes in sports, art, politics, education and business,” Erdoğan said in a message marking Dec. 3, the United Nations' International Day of Disabled Persons.

Erdoğan said the government prioritizes developing solutions for problems of disabled people to facilitate their lives.

“With the understanding of a social state, we have introduced solutions for many problems in the last 18 years, from education to home care services, from affirmative action in employment to disability rights,” he said.

The U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed Dec. 3 as the International Day of Disabled Persons in 1992, with an aim to highlight the difficulties and problems these people face.