Turkish president vows to turn Türkiye into ‘global center of attraction’ in field of health care

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday vowed to turn his country into a "global center of attraction" in the field of health care.

"We are determined to make Türkiye a global center of attraction in health care and not just a provider of services to its own citizens," Erdogan said at the opening ceremony of a city hospital in the northwestern Kocaeli province.

He said that not only Turkish citizens living abroad choose Türkiye for health care services, but also foreigners have an increasing interest.

"Our people are well aware of the value of the exemplary infrastructure we have established in the field of health, the system reform we have made, and the manpower we are still continuing to strengthen," Erdogan said.

He also underlined the importance of the city hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic and after the massive earthquakes on Feb. 6.

"Türkiye has stood up from the burden of the catastrophe of the century, the Feb. 6 earthquakes, with the strength of its state, the capacity of its institutions, and the sacrifice of its people," he said.

On Feb. 6, magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck numerous Turkish provinces, taking over 50,000 lives.

Around 14 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the quakes, as well as many others in northern Syria.