Turkish FM holds meetings in New York
NEW YORK-Anadolu Agency
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met with his German, Burundian and Romanian counterparts in New York on Sept. 26.
Çavuşoğlu first met with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and then held talks with Burundi's Ezechiel Nibigira and Romania's Ramona Manescu on the sidelines of the 74th UN General Assembly.
He said on Twitter that he discussed bilateral relations and cooperation opportunities with the ministers.
Later, he attended the meeting on United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) organized by Sweden and Jordan.
Çavuşoğlu also attended a MIKTA foreign ministers meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
"At 15th #MIKTA Foreign Ministers Meeting in #UNGA74, evaluated recent developments on regional and international issues," Çavuşoğlu said in a Twitter post.
MIKTA is an informal partnership consisting of Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey and Australia.
Noting that it has been five years since the establishment of MIKTA, Çavuşoğlu said "This is an important platform to reform the #UN and revitalize multilateral cooperation mechanisms."
The closed-door meeting was hosted by Mexico.
In the meantime, the 10th Ministerial Meeting of the UN Group of Friends of Mediation was convened on Sept. 26 in New York, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
With the co-chairmanship of his Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto, Çavuşoğlu hosted the meeting as part of the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly, the statement said.
The meeting was carried out with the theme of New Technologies for Peace and Mediation as Tools for Inclusion: Celebrating the 10th Ministerial Meeting and Looking Ahead.
"The Meeting which brought together several Ministers and prominent figures from the field of mediation was timely and useful given the recent technological developments and their potential impact on efforts in peace and stability," it added.
Turkey works with UN to tackle climate change issues
Çavuşoğlu on Sept. 26 said his country works with the United Nations to tackle the challenges of climate change and to protect environment.
The foreign minister was speaking at an event on sustainable development goals, organized by Malaysia and Pakistan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
"Natural disasters such as extreme weather conditions, drought and floods are expected to rise in near future. International community should support the establishment of technical and legal resistance mechanism against these disasters," he said.
He went on to say that environmental problems like desertification, land degradation and air pollution obstruct sustainable development.
"We should integrate sustainable development goals with national development plans and policies. It is important. It is very important that all parties are involved in this process. Close cooperation […] and coordinated international efforts are necessary,” he added.