TRT Director General Sobacı: “Türkiye Has Been the Voice of Justice”

TRT WORLD

The first day of TRT World Forum 2025 continues, bringing together thousands of participants and around 150 speakers from various regions of the world. The ninth edition of the Forum, inaugurated with a speech by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has attended the opening of every forum since 2017, also featured remarks from TRT Director General Mehmet Zahid Sobacı, who shared his insights on current developments.

“A fairer global reset is no longer a choice but an urgent necessity,” TRT Director General Sobacı said.

During his address, TRT Director General Mehmet Zahid Sobacı stated that over the course of two days, the Forum would address the multiple crises and simultaneous transformations taking place around the world. He emphasized that this year’s theme of the TRT World Forum aptly reflects the current state of global affairs.

“At this point, we are facing an international system that suffers from a deep crisis of legitimacy in the eyes of the global public, fails to uphold justice, prioritizes power over morality, lacks accountability, and cannot provide solutions to global problems. The world is seeking direction within such a system. The remedy lies in presenting the vision and determination to rebuild it,” Sobacı said, stressing that a fairer global reset is no longer a choice but an inevitable necessity.

“Under President Erdoğan’s Vision of Global Peace, Türkiye Has Emerged as a Game-Changing Actor”

Highlighting Türkiye’s evolving role as a game-changing actor capable of shaping the future of the World over the past 23 years, Sobacı noted:

“At this very point, under the ‘vision of global peace’ and the diplomatic initiatives of our President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Türkiye has emerged as a game-changing actor. In the face of conflict, Türkiye prioritizes diplomacy; in the face of dispute, it promotes consensus; against oppression, it defends justice; and amid chaos, it upholds order. Under His Excellency’s leadership, Türkiye plays a transformative role in the global reset process. While safeguarding its own rights and interests, Türkiye also presents humanity with the blueprint for a fairer world—standing firmly for what is right and ensuring accountability for injustices. The most concrete example of this stance in recent times is, without doubt, Gaza.”

As attempts are made to justify Israel’s genocide in Gaza for two years, Sobacı stated that Türkiye is “the voice of justice,” saying: “While walls of silence were being built, our President instilled courage into words. Our country’s stance on the side of truth and justice throughout the civil war in Syria stands as a symbol of honor. Today, through its presence on the ground, Türkiye makes a strong contribution to the establishment of an inclusive order in Syria and to the limitation of destabilizing actors. Not only in Gaza and Syria, but in all humanitarian crises and conflicts, near and far, Türkiye has acted as a mediator, replacing the old order with new realities.”

“It is our fundamental duty to strengthen our country’s humanitarian, moral, and strategic stance in the international arena in the field of broadcasting.”

TRT Director General Sobacı, emphasizing that TRT strives to contribute to the rebuilding of the international system through its global broadcasting network—spanning television and radio channels, digital news platforms, series and documentaries, as well as international strategic media summits—concluded his speech by stating, “As TRT, we are fully aware of the responsibility we bear on the media front of the Century of Türkiye, and within this framework of responsibility, it is our fundamental duty to strengthen our country’s humanitarian, moral, and strategic stance in the international arena in broadcasting,” while also expressing his hope that the TRT World Forum would contribute to the global restructuring process.

TRT’s event that brings together world leaders, the TRT World Forum, is taking place in Istanbul on October 31 – November 1, 2025. Now a traditional gathering and being held for the ninth time this year, the forum hosts both domestic and international policymakers, businesspeople, academics, and journalists.

On the first day of the forum, discussion topics include “Building Strategic Autonomy: Türkiye and the Global Defence Paradigm”, “Syria’s New Dawn: Charting a Course for Reconstruction and Stability”, “Contested Futures: Conflict and Reconciliation in East Africa”, and “From Victimhood to Resilience: The Path to Justice in Gaza”.

Norwegian artist Vibeke Harper is contributing meaningfully to the event with her installation, which will continue throughout the Forum. In her performance, visitors will write the names of 3,925 young people aged 18–20 who lost their lives in Israeli attacks on red paper and hang them on a wall, creating a collective space of remembrance and awareness.