Indonesia: Group of FMs talk immigration, terrorism

By Mahmut Atanur

JAKARTA

The 14th foreign ministerial meeting of MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia) was held in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta on Thursday.

Attending to the meeting, Turkey's deputy foreign minister Faruk Kaymakci said the meeting focused on tackling issues such as combatting terrorism, radicalism, immigration and the organization's role in the world.

Kaymakci -- speaking to Anadolu Agency after the conference -- said that immigration was a significant problem worldwide.

"We discussed immigration, a major global challenge today. Turkey is the biggest refugee-hosting country in the world, as of today we have 4.7 million people in Turkey and 3.7 of them are Syrians, it is a huge figure. Turkey is trying to provide shelter and protection to them. International community's help is limited, so we are expecting more support from them," he said.

Kaymakci added that the member states of MIKTA recognized and appreciated Turkish hospitability towards Syrian refugees.

The Turkish diplomat went on to say Turkey is actively involved in the global coalition fighting Daesh terrorists, adding that 4,000 members in Syria and 2,000 in Iraq were neutralized by Turkish efforts.

"MIKTA represents different regions of the world. For example, we, in a way, represent Europe whereas Mexico represents the American continent. There are countries representing the South East and Asia or the Pacific. We all represent many beliefs, cultures civilization, so MIKTA is a rich grouping," he said.

Kaymakci stated that the global role of MIKTA was another agenda item discussed at the meeting. "We believe MIKTA should be in close cooperation with other regional and international organizations such as G7, OIC African Union," he said.

During the meeting, MIKTA members selected Mexico to be the chairing country for 2019.