The Turkish president on Saturday attended the opening ceremony of the Hasankeyf-2 Bridge, built in southeastern Turkey, with a live link from the Huber Mansion in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul.
"Hasankeyf-2 Bridge will link (the provinces of) Batman, Mardin, and Habur border crossing and have a multiplier effect on the regional trade," said Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
"We are dealing with complex terrains as well as sabotage by separatist terrorist organizations in our projects in Anatolia," he noted, referring to the difficulty in the building process of the bridge.
Despite all opposition groups, the PKK terrorist organization, and their supporters, "we are striving to ensure the same level of development in Turkey's both eastern and western parts," said Erdoğan.
"We have managed record investments in the last 19 years, especially in the field of transport," said the Turkish president, stressing that all developments Turkey has reached in this period have much exceeded those during the country's history.
"Foreigners now view our roads, bridges, and airports with envy when they come to Turkey," he said, adding: "For health care, thousands come to Turkey, our citizens no longer need to go abroad to seek proper treatment."
He also mentioned the recent developments in the county's coronavirus vaccination process.
"At a time when nearly 100 countries have not even started the COVID-19 vaccination (process), we have administered 20 million doses to our citizens," Erdoğan added.
