President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held bilateral meetings with Emirati, South Korean, Brazilian and German leaders, as well as the leaders of MIKTA on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in India’s capital New Delhi on Saturday.
Erdoğan and his United Arab Emirates (UAE) counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a closed-door meeting, where they discussed bilateral relations and steps to be taken to develop existing areas of cooperation, according to Türkiye's Communications Directorate.
Regional and global issues were also on the agenda.
Although UAE is not a member of the G-20, term president India also invited the leaders of Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Egypt, Mauritius, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the UAE to attend the summit.
In July, Erdoğan visited the UAE as part of his three-nation Gulf tour to strengthen regional ties.
In his meeting with Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Erdoğan discussed steps that can be taken to further develop Türkiye-Brazil relations, according to Türkiye's Communications Directorate.
The leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues. Erdoğan wished success to Brazil, which will take over the G-20 term presidency in 2024, and noted that trade volume between the two countries, which was $5.6 billion last year, could be increased to $10 billion with joint efforts.
Erdoğan was one of the leaders that voiced support for Lula after hundreds of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the National Congress building while shouting slogans and demanding intervention by the army to overturn the 2022 election.
Brazil is Türkiye's first strategic partner in South America and its biggest trade partner in the region.
Erdoğan’s meeting with his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol also took place behind closed doors.
During the meeting, bilateral relations between Türkiye and South Korea, as well as steps to improve existing ties were discussed.
They also exchanged views on the regional and global issues.
Erdoğan also met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. During the meeting, they discussed the bilateral relations, and exchanged views on reviving the dialogue mechanism with the EU, Türkiye's Communications Directorate said in a statement.
Regional issues, including the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and international issues were also on the agenda, it added.
Conveying his get-well wishes to Scholz on his recent accident, Erdoğan stated that it is necessary to strengthen cooperation in areas such as energy supply, renewable energy, innovation and technology transfers in a bid to increase the bilateral trade volume of $45 billion reached in 2022.
Erdoğan urges MIKTA leaders to take stance against anti-Muslim hatred
Meanwhile, Erdoğan called on the leaders of MIKTA, a partnership between Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Australia, to unite against the growing threat of anti-Muslim hatred.
"The increase and spread of hostility towards Islam along with international terrorism is worrying. These negative developments have reminded us again that we need more solidarity, more understanding of each other and tolerance," Erdoğan said at a meeting with MIKTA leaders.
He held talks with Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo, South Korea's Yoon Suk Yeol, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Since Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador could not attend the G-20 summit, Economy Minister Raquel Buenrostro Sanchez represented him at the meeting.
"As injustices in the global system grow, the ability of international organizations to produce solutions to these problems is, unfortunately, decreasing," Erdoğan said, adding this situation further increases responsibility in resolving conflicts through peaceful means to build a more just world, and to ensure multilateralism.
"Instead of hate crimes, discrimination, Islamophobia and xenophobia, we need to make mutual respect and a culture of coexistence prevail.
"It is unacceptable that the most sacred values of 2 billion people are allowed to be attacked almost every day under the guise of freedom of expression. We believe that everyone who respects humanity, regardless of their religion, should object to this," he added.
Türkiye will continue to speak about the issue, Erdoğan stressed.
He said: "In addition, it is essential that international organizations be made fair, democratic, transparent, accountable and effective, with more inclusive representation. Organizations such as MIKTA are also of great importance in this regard.
"I believe that, as MIKTA countries, we can make constructive contributions to the fight against the food crisis that threatens the whole world. I hope that our cooperation will support efforts to combat crises and new challenges."
Created in 2013, MIKTA aims to contribute constructive solutions to regional and global challenges as well as enhancing effectiveness of global governance. MIKTA members also work to strengthen their economic and political ties.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the head of National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Ibrahim Kalin, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, Erdoğan's chief advisers Akif Çağatay Kılıç and Zafer Çubukçu, and Hasan Doğan, chief of cabinet to the president, were also present at the bilateral meetings.
Gathering under the theme, "One Earth, One Family, One Future," G-20 leaders, in the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, will exchange views in three sessions during the two-day summit, hoping to make progress on trade, climate and other global problems.