His first public appearance, after three days of absencedue to the malaise he felt during his interview on the KANAL 7 television network, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made today two weeks before the presidential elections.

According to images broadcast live by television networks, the Turkish president appeared dressed in pilot uniform at Istanbul’s old Ataturk Airportwhere the Teknofest aerospace and technology exhibition is held, which Turkey bills as “the world’s largest” and which allows the Turkish military industry to display its drones and planes.

The Turkish president addressed the crowd and hailed “the efforts and successes of the engineers” and Turkish technology, without mentioning the state of his health.

Stricken with an enterovirus, according to those close to him, the 69-year-old Erdogan, who has been in power for 20 years, spoke this week only via video conference, raising questions about his health ahead of the May 14 election.

Still pale and tired-faced, the Turkish president arrived at the exhibition accompanied by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeiba, two countries to which Turkey supplies fighter drones.

Erdogan is scheduled to attend an election rally in Izmir on the west coast later today, according to his official schedule.

He is also expected to travel to the capital Ankara tomorrow Sunday, exactly two weeks before the first round of elections, to continue his election campaign.