Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in New Delhi on Sunday to hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on key bilateral and regional issues, including India’s NSG membership bid and ways to strengthen cooperation in counter-terrorism and trade.
Live updates:
11: 50 a.m.: ‘Come to Turkey for honeymoon’
“79,000 tourists from India visited Turkey but we want more Indian tourists,” President Erdogan says. PM Modi has turned tourism into a driving force.
“Come to Turkey for your honeymoon.”
Turkish Airlines would like to increase destinations and flights to India, he says.
11: 45 a.m.: Turkish and Indian companies have made investment in third countries. The potential for bilateral investment much higher. Turkey is a gateway for India, President Erdogan says.
Turkey is the largest democracy in the region. India is fastest growing economy. India Turkey Space cooperation is noteworthy
Nuclear energy and renewable energy are possible fields of cooperation, he says.
11: 25 a.m.: First Speech by President Erdogan begins
“My friend Modi and I are very happy to attend this organised by FICCI and CII. Since independence of India ties improved I met PM Modi before this meeting and agreed for comprehensive economic cooperation.”
10:15 am: President Erdogan will be hosted at the Dr. M.A. Ansari Auditorium of the Jamia Milia Islamia where Vice-Chancellor Lt. Gen. (Retired) M.A. Zaki will confer the Degree of Doctor of Letters to him.
In recent years, Jamia Milia Islamia has emerged as an important centre for studies in Turkish language and culture.
10:00 am: Setting the stage for intense diplomacy, Turkey has urged for multilateral dialogue to solve the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan. In comments made to an Indian TV channel, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for an end to the casualties in the Valley and said Turkey is willing to be involved in finding a lasting solution to the question of Kashmir.
“We should not allow more casualties to occur and by strengthening multilateral dialogue, we can be involved, and through multilateral dialogue, I think we have to seek out ways to settle this question once and for all, which will benefit both countries,” President Erdogan was quoted as saying in an interview to news channel WION, according to a press release issued by the channel.
9:45 am: Issues relating to regional security, situation in the Middle East, particularly Syria, are likely to figure during talks between Modi and Erdogan.
9:30 am: With Turkey being a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the issue of India’s membership bid for the elite group is likely to figure during the talks between the two leaders.
Turkey is not directly opposed to India’s NSG membership but has been maintaining that the powerful bloc should come out with a system to consider the entry of the countries which are not signatory to the Nuclear Non—Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as also supporting Pakistan’s case.
9:10 am: Apart from his wife Emine Erdogan, the Turkish President is accompanied by senior cabinet ministers and a 150-member business delegation that will take part in a meeting of the India-Turkey Business Forum.
9:00 am: This is Erdogan’s first foreign visit after winning a controversial referendum on April 16 that further consolidated his executive powers.
