Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised India as Turkey’s foremost trade partner in South Asia, highlighting the vast potential for economic collaboration between the two nations. Speaking at a press conference during the G20 Summit in New Delhi on Sunday, Erdogan emphasised their strong economic ties, saying, “India is our greatest trade partner in South Asia. And we have great potential to enjoy primarily in the field of economy and many others.”
Expressing gratitude for India’s hospitality during the summit, Erdogan thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and noted the theme of the event: “This year, our theme was one world, one family, and one future.” He also highlighted the global environmental challenges. Climate change, the loss of biological diversity, and especially the dimension of extensive pollution are a trio of challenges which we can feel even more profoundly now.”
PM Modi and President Erdogan held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit on Sunday. The PM took to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) to share their discussions. “I talked with the President @RTErdogan about ways to strengthen trade relations and infrastructure connections between India and Turkey,” he said.
Erdogan touches upon progress on Black Sea grain deal
On international relations, Erdogan said, “We believe that any initiative that isolates Russia is bound to fail. Its success is a very little possibility. We believe that any step that may escalate the tensions in the Black Sea should be avoided.” He revealed plans to establish a Food Supply Security Study Group, involving Russia, Ukraine, and the United Nations, to support global food supply security through continuous dialogue with international stakeholders.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI or BSI) initially established in 2022 to prevent significant shortages of essential commodities like wheat and sunflower oil, primarily caused by the Ukraine conflict, expired on July 17 of this year. Russia declined to extend the agreement, citing alleged “unkept promises” by Western nations as the reason for their decision.
“We are making intense efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which has cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. As Russia, Qatar and Turkey, we attach importance to processing and delivering 1 million tons of grain to African countries suffering from food shortages,” said Erdogan in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
“The attack on holy books through our country’s proposals and efforts was also condemned in the G20 declaration,” he added, referring to the recent displays of burning the holy Quran in nations like Sweden and Denmark.
Erdogan highlights Turkey’s contribution in IMEE EC
During discussions about the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEE EC) that was announced on Friday, Erdogan revealed plans to collaborate with Gulf countries and Iraq.
He explained, “Regarding such a corridor, particularly the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Turkey are acting sensitively and in a fast manner. We hope to be able to implement this project… our ministers of foreign relations and ministers of transportation work together. And we will try and work to be able to implement this in the coming couple of months.”
On India’s aspiration for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, Erdogan expressed support, stating, “A country like India being there on the UN Security Council, we would be proud. But as you know, the world is bigger than the larger than five… we should have a rotational mechanism where potentially each and every member, every one of those 195 countries can potentially become a member. That’s what we propose.”
Erdogan arrived in New Delhi for the G20 Summit accompanied by the first lady of Turkey, Emine Erdogan. He was warmly received by Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways of India
Source : RepublicWorld