G20 Summit 2023: After the conclusion of a successful G20 Summit in New Delhi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a major jolt to Pakistan by calling India as his country’s ‘greatest trading partner’. Pakistan was believed to be Turkey’s largest partner in trade and investment.

“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,” said Erdogan during a press conference in New Delhi after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Notably, earlier this year, India went all-out to help Turkey as well as Syria after the countries suffered devastating earthquakes under Delhi’s ‘Operation Dost’. India dispatched several shipments of medicines, protection safety tools and diagnostic kits for the quake-hit nations.

Erdogan also thanked PM Modi for a gracious and successful term of G20 presidency and also for the hospitality he and his delegation received in New Delhi.

“This year, our theme was one world, one family and one future. And within the first session of the summit, we had talked about the environmental challenges that our planet currently encounters. Climate change, the loss of biological diversity and especially there is the dimension of extensive pollution is a trio of challenges which we can feel even more profoundly now,” he said during the presser.

We’ll be proud to have India as permanent member of UNSC: Erdogan

The Turkish President said that his country would be proud to see India as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), but said that the world was bigger than five countries and advocated for a rotational mechanism like in G20.

“A country like India being there on the UN Security Council, we would be proud. But as you now, the world is bigger than larger than five. And when we say the world is larger than five, what we mean is that it’s not only about the US, UK, France, China and Russia. What we say is all of them, we should only have permanent members.,” he said while replying to a question on India’s permanent UNSC membership.

He also highlighted that countries involved in UN have grown to 195 and called for a rotational mechanism so that each of these nations can promote their interests in a global platform.

Any initiative isolating Russia will fail, says Turkey

On the topic of animosity between Western countries and Russia over the Ukraine conflict and the Black Sea grain deal, Erdogan said that any initiative isolating Moscow is “bound to fail”. He said that both Russia and Ukraine need to be brought together to advocate escalating conflicts.

“We believe that any step that may escalate the tensions in the Black Sea should be avoided… In order to support the global food security, food supply security, we are going to bring together the Food Supply Security Study Group, both Russia, Ukraine, as well as the United Nations, and with our stakeholders coming from the international community, we are going to have continuous talks…,” he told reporters.

Turkey has been steadfast in persuading Russia to rejoin the Black Sea grain deal, after the latter’s withdrawal resulted in a spike of food prices and increased the risk of food insecurity in several countries. Russia and Turkey are also enjoying growing trade relations.

Erdogan on India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor

PM Modi made yet another historic achievement by launching the India-Middle East Economic Corridor. The initiative will consist of two separate corridors — East Corridor connecting India to West Asia/Middle East and Northern Corridor connecting West Asia or Middle East to Europe.

Erdogan said that all Gulf countries are involved in the project and that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq and Turkey are acting sensitively and quickly on the matter and tying it all the way into Europe. 

“We hope to be able to implement this project. We’re working on it, and as we speak, 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…,”

Erdogan had arrived in New Delhi on Friday for the G20 Summit with his wife, the first lady of Turkey Emine Erdogan. He was received by Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways of India.

Meanwhile, PM Modi on Sunday announced the conclusion of the G20 Summit and proposed to hold a virtual G20 session in November to review the suggestions and proposals made at the forum.

(with ANI inputs)

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