WHAT HAS HAPPENED ?
Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has yet again raked up the Kashmir issue at the ongoing 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
In his address at the annual diplomatic gathering on Tuesday, Erdogan, who is a close ally of Pakistan, said that he hopes for "permanent peace" in Kashmir.
"India and Pakistan, after having established their sovereignty and independence 75 years ago, they still haven't established peace and solidarity between one another.
This is much unfortunate. We hope and pray that a fair and permanent peace and prosperity will be established in Kashmir," he said..
NOT THE FIRST TIME
Last year also he made references about Kashmir at the UN General Assembly.
In fact since 2019, the Turkish president has been talking about the region in the international forum, often calling it a "burning issue". A member of NATO, Turkey had criticized the Modi government in 2019 at the UN General Assembly for its decision to scrap Article 370, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
India, too, has been prompt in its response calling his remarks "completely unacceptable", and asking the Turkish president to learn about respecting the sovereignty of other nations.
Bilateral ties had hit such a low that Prime Minister Modi even cancelled his visit to Turkey in 2019 owing to the tensions.
VISIT TO PAKISTAN IN 2020
During his visit to Pakistan in 2020, Erdoğan had said that Ankara would support Islamabad on the Kashmir issue and likened the "struggle" of Kashmiris with that of his country during World War 1.
At the time, the Indian government summoned the Turkish ambassador to lodge a diplomatic protest.
India had termed Turkey's comments on Kashmir as a "gross interference in India's internal affairs... and completely unacceptable".
BUT WHY THIS YEAR'S STATEMENT IS IMPORTANT ?
Erdogan's comment comes four days after he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand.
India and Turkey have decided to give a fresh lease of life to their bilateral relationship by boosting two-way trade and investment, keeping aside the politics over Kashmir and Ankara's close ties with Islamabad.
While some initial signs of the ice breaking could be seen when External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu at Dushanbe in Tajikistan in April 2021, This was the first time the leaders of the two countries met in person since President Erdoğan's last visit to India in 2017.
Two-way trade in merchandise goods between India and Turkey reached USD 10.71 billion in 2021-22, exceeding the target both countries had set for 2020.
During the meeting Friday, both countries also decided to boost their trade ties and even explore the possibility of a free trade agreement (FTA) that will open up greater channels of business between them, diplomatic sources told.
India and Turkey have been discussing the possibility of an FTA since last year, sources added.
UNGA GENERAL DEBATE
After two years of in-person restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, leaders from across the world convened in New York for the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Which opened last week on September 13, with Tuesday (September 20) being the first day of the high-level General Debate.
ISSUES THAT INDIA WILL BE FOCUSING
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who arrived in New York on Sunday (September 18), will be the country's official representative at the event.
He is slated to address the world leaders during the week-long General Debate on September 24.
The key issues that India will be focusing on during the high-level UN General Assembly session are counter-terrorism, peacekeeping, reformed multilaterism, climate action and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
The five S's: Samman (Respect), Samvad (Dialogue), Sahyog (Cooperation), Shanti (Peace) and Samriddhi (Prosperity), Laid out by PM Narendra Modi will be the "guiding light" in India's approach to the UNGA, India's Permanent Mission to the UN stated in a video posted on Twitter.
During his trip to the US, which will continue till September 28, Jaishankar will also be hosting a Ministerial meeting of the G4 nations - India, Japan, Germany and Brazil.
Additionally, Jaishanker will take part in the High Level Meeting of the L.69 group, a major bloc of developing countries from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific, that are focused on reforms of the UN Security Council.
