Indian, Turkish officials hold talks on bilateral ties

CHANDIGARH, India

Indian and Turkish officials met Wednesday in the capital, New Delhi, and discussed a wide range of topics.

Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Sedat Onal had a meeting with Gitesh A Sarma, Secretary (West) under the institutional mechanism of Foreign Office Consultations, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

It said the officials held cordial discussions on various aspects of bilateral ties, including examining opportunities for enhancing trade and investment relations.

The ministry said bilateral trade currently totals around $8.6 billion, with a target to reach $10 billion by 2020.

Enhanced cultural interaction, tourism and people-to-people contacts were also discussed, and the two sides also reviewed the current situation in their respective regions and exchanged views on several multilateral issues.

“India and Turkey enjoy close, friendly and deep-rooted ties dating back several centuries and share civilizational links. The recent political exchanges have imparted fresh momentum to our bilateral ties and opened several new avenues for cooperation,” the ministry added.

"Exchanging views. India and Turkey held Foreign Office Consultations led by Secretary West Sh. Gitesh Sarma & Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal. Discussed cooperation in trade, investment, cultural interaction, tourism, people-to-people contacts," said MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on Twitter.

Onal is visiting India from May 7-9 as part of a regular exchange between the two countries, said officials in New Delhi, adding he had earlier visited India as part of the delegation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May 2017.