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President Recep Tayyip Erdoan has voiced his support for the constitutional change that would lower the minimum age to become a lawmaker from 25 to 18, citing the example of powerful companies who employ young chief executive officers.

Speaking at an opening ceremony for infrastructure projects in eastern Turkey's Elazig province, Erdoan said the campaign for a Yes vote for the April 16 referendum on constitutional changes would continue.

We would also like to see ages of ministers going down to 18 from 25 years. Is that possible? Why not! Today, 25-year-old, 30-year-old young people are running giant corporations of the world," he said.

Under the proposed changes to the constitution, minimum age for parliamentary candidates would be reduced to 18 from 25.

The president said Turkey needs idealism and energy of youths, adding he wants to see elected young people between the ages of 18 and 25 in the Turkish parliament."

Erdoan kicked off the Yes campaign on Friday after the official referendum schedule was announced by the Supreme Election Board. The campaign began in southern Kahramanmaras, one of the areas that gave him the most votes in the 2014 presidential polls.

Turkey has finally achieved the appropriate management system which has been seeking for years. The name of this system is the presidential government system," he said.

Referring to opposition to the constitutional changes, Erdoan said those who objected to the new system do not want it because it is going to destroy their own interests and revealing their own bad intent."

Constitutional reform has been discussed since then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan was voted president in August 2014.

The reforms would remove parliament's power to question ministers or stage a confidence vote in the government. The minimum age for parliamentary candidates would be reduced to 18 and the number of deputies will rise to 600.

Simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections for a five-year term would be held in November 2019 under the new constitution.

Turkish nationals overseas will be able to vote in the referendum between March 27 and April 9 at polling stations in embassies and consulates as well as at Turkish ports and airports. These votes will be tallied in Turkey on referendum night.

The political parties can campaign until 6 p.m. on April 15.

The bill of constitutional changes was passed by parliament in January, with 339 votes in favor -- nine more than needed to put the proposals to a referendum.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent official tour to three key Gulf countries came at a critical juncture in the region where there is an urgent need to establish a power equilibrium to avoid new conflicts, Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Saturday. In his column for the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah, Kalin said: "The rise of violent extremism in the form of al-Qaeda and Daesh on the one hand, and the deepening sectarian conflict between Sunni and Shia Muslims on the other, require a long-term vision and wise political leadership. Muslims cannot let violent extremism and sectarianism define their faith and destroy their future." He said strengthening of economic relations and counterterrorism efforts as well as mutual collaboration among the regional countries is an absolute must in order to provide permanent peace and stability in the Gulf and Middle East regions. "The current global disorder and regional rivalry for power has taken its toll on the political architecture and ordinary citizens of the Middle East and the larger Muslim world. There is an urgent need to establish power equilibrium to address the pressing security and economic challenges and avoid new conflicts. This can happen only when the key stakeholders initiate a new period of intra-regional solidarity and claim their regional ownership." Kalin said regional ownership calls for dealing with challenges of the Middle East and the Muslim world through strengthened dialogue in the fields of security and economic cooperation. "This does not mean turning our back on the rest of the world. No form of 'third worldism' and turning inside would work in the increasingly sophisticated and multi-polar world in which we live. To the contrary, regional ownership encourages openness to the world, but this can generate a win-win situation only when regional problems are no longer there for others to manipulate to their advantage," he wrote. Kalin added Turkey pursues a policy of mutual empowerment with its neighbors and the larger Muslim world and it seeks regional solutions to regional problems. "Ending violent extremism and sectarian conflict is possible only when we realize that power equilibrium is in the interest of all parties. As we have seen in recent conflicts, seeking undue influence through proxies in other countries hurts everyone. No one can claim victory in self-defeating conflicts," he said. The presidential aide also said Turkey's current trade volume with the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) is a little over $16 billion and given the economic potential it is not sufficient. "Talks concerning a free trade agreement between Turkey and the GCC are underway and can be signed this year under the Bahraini term presidency," Kalin said. He added the approach is being reciprocated by the GCC countries, which understands Turkey's security concerns over the PKK terror group and Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and have declared both as terrorist organizations. FETO, led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, is believed to have organized July 2016's defeated military takeover in Turkey, which left at least 248 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured. "Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, in particular, have taken a number of steps to stop the activities of FETO institutions and individuals in their countries. Fighting Daesh and other terrorist organizations ideologically and militarily is also a common goal shared by all parties," Kalin wrote. He said joint efforts to prevent the coupling of Islam with violence and terrorism by extremists in the Muslim world and Western countries are also important. "Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are working closely to resolve the conflict in Syria and help establish peace and security in Iraq," Kalin added.

Turkey's target after liberating Al-Bab, Syria, from Daesh is the town of Manbij, and clearing the terrorist PKK's Syrian offshoot, PYD, from the region, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan said Friday. Erdoan's remarks came in an interview with the satellite channel al-Arabiya that aired during his visit to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, as part of a Gulf tour that also took the Turkish leader to Bahrain and Qatar. Erdoan linked the resolution of the Syrian crisis with confronting terrorism, especially the Daesh terror group inside Syria. Turkey's president reiterated that a terror-free safe zone should be established between Jarablus and Al-Rai in northern Syria, decrying the large human crisis represented by the refugees, 2.8 million of whom Turkey is hosting". Turkey hosts more Syrian refugees than any other country in the world. It has spent approximately $25 billion to shelter and provide for refugees since the beginning of Syrian war in early 2011. Erdoan stressed that to achieve stability in the region and Syria, serious support from Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia, is needed. The murderous Assad regime has killed innocents, and the announced number is 600,000 Syrians, but I believe that the number is more than that, I believe it is around 1 million since the regime used barrel bombs and all weapons and tanks and artillery, and destroyed civilization as well as archaeological sites, and did that brutally and without hesitation and it is continuing," said Erdogan. On Turkey's efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis, Erdoan stressed multiple aspects, including confronting terrorism, humanitarian efforts, and seeking a cease-fire in the war-torn country through political efforts. The Turkish president stressed that his only wish is to reach a cease-fire and stop the bloodshed". Turkey has been in contact with Russia to achieve this goal, he said, adding that progress can be made in talks in Astana, Kazakhstan. Amid all this, he said, Turkey is also confronting terrorism in Syria. Do not forget that there is a terrorist organization called Daesh in the region, and we are confronting this terrorist organization as well," he said. When did we start fighting this organization [Daesh] with full determination? When it targeted innocent Turkish citizens in the city of Gaziantep; when they targeted, using a suicide attacker, a crowd of revelers on the occasion of a wedding," said Erdogan, referring to an attack in southeastern Turkey last year that killed 57 victims and wounded dozens of others. We subsequently made a decision and went directly to Jarabulus and our forces reinforced the Free [Syrian] Army." There was not only the Daesh organization, but we were also fighting terrorism on more than one front. There were the PYD and YPG and we cleared Daesh from Al-Rai, and then we proceeded to Dabiq" and cleared it, Erdogan said. The PYD and its military wing, YPG, are Syrian branches of the terrorist PKK. The PKK -- listed as a terror organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its armed campaign in July 2015 and since has been responsible for the deaths of approximately 1,100 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including women and children. Now, we reached Al-Bab [in Aleppo province] and the battle there is intense and very hot, especially now that Operation Euphrates Shield is still ongoing, and I think that within a few days Al-Bab will be cleared of Daesh," said Erdogan. The Turkish-led Operation Euphrates Shield began in late August to improve security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the terror threat along the Turkish border using Free Syrian Army fighters backed by Turkish artillery and jets. Erdogan continued, "And then we will go to Manbij because Manbij is an Arab-affiliated area, because there is the PYD and YPG, and this area should be cleared of these terrorist organization elements, and we previously expressed our concern about that to former U.S. President Barack Obama, and to the current [U.S.] administration." An upcoming target is Raqqah, a city on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, he said. He added, As you know, Raqqah is the most important center for Daesh, so I have told Mr. Donald Trump that we, as coalition forces, are together for the goal of clearing the region of Daesh. We have also told other representatives: 'If we act jointly, we can give Raqqa to our Arab brothers, who are its owners, after ridding the region of Daesh. So, the region would reach stability, partially. Now we are following the process." Erdoan said Turkey needs the support of Gulf countries to create a safe zone between the northern Syrian city of Jarablus and the town of Al-Rai. Actually, we need Gulf countries' support, led by Saudi Arabia. Why do I say this? First of all there is a huge refugee crisis here. Where are these people? Most of these people are in Turkey; we now have 2.8 million Syrian brothers. We are now hosting them in tents, container cities, [and] in various provinces of Turkey. Of course we do not find this adequate. We say, let us declare a safe zone from terrorism between Jarablus and Al-Rai, in the southern part, an area of about 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles). Let's also declare that place a no-fly zone. Let us also create a national army by doing training and equipping." On the region's humanitarian needs, Erdogan said Turkey is doing its duty toward Syrians by providing food, medicine, and the like. "And we will continue our support for the Syrian people as we cannot abandon them," he said. He added that he discussed the issue with my Saudi brothers and with Europe and U.S., and we can embark on a housing project and build complexes and homes to enable the refugees to go back to their lands, and to stay in these houses, and then we would take a considerable step on the way to stability, and this is our great hope". Asked whether he believes there were governments behind Daesh, Erdogan said, "We know that the Daesh organization receives support from the international community, and there are strong financial parties that support the organization". The same can be said of al-Qaeda and the African terror groups Boko Haram and al-Shabaab, he said. We know that there are states standing behind terrorist organizations and working to divide our region and tear it apart, not only from within the Muslim world but also from outside of it," Erdogan said. "The weapons possessed by terrorist organizations are a creation of the West. Through these weapons these organizations practice terrorism and spread themselves," he said, adding this is true not only of Daesh but also the PKK/PYD and YPG. I am telling you that U.S. weapons, Russian weapons, German weapons, and French weapons are here [in Syria]. I also tell these facts to officials of those countries: 'They hit us with your guns, they hit Muslims, are you tracking it, are you checking this?' When I ask this question, they always pass it on [to the next person]. We need to see and need to know about this." "This organization is a terrorist organization and has no relation to Islam," stressed Erdogan, adding that Daesh would meet its end in Syria. I believe that the coalition forces are also intent on this matter, as well as the countries in the region, led by Saudi Arabia," Erdogan said. He urged the region, the West and the world: If we do not mount a joint effort against terrorism, these terrorist organizations will become a calamity for us in other areas, in other Gulf cities, in our country and other countries."

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Turkey needs energy of youths in parliament: Erdoan - Yeni afak English