Turkish president to visit Baku, Zagreb next week

Erdinç Çelikkan - ANKARA

DHA photo

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is set to pay visits to Baku and Zagreb, first attending a global forum meeting of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in the capital of neighboring Azerbaijan.

While in Croatia, Erdoğan will be accompanied by a large business delegation and attend a meeting of the Turkey-Croatia Business Forum. 

The 7th Global Forum in Baku, which will take place April 25-27, will bring together around 2,500 heads of states and government officials, as well as civil society, religious and youth leaders, to share their perspectives and solutions on “Living Together in Inclusive Societies: A Challenge and A Goal.”

Erdoğan will attend the forum on April 25-26 and highlight the growing Syrian refugee crisis, while also holding bilateral meetings with several leaders, including Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The forum is expected to produce strong messages against Islamophobia, which has risen recently amid jihadist attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), particularly in Europe.

The UNAOC was launched in 2005 by the prime ministers of Turkey and Spain, and later adopted by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to become a U.N. initiative.

Erdoğan is scheduled to proceed to the Croatian capital for a visit on April 26-27. Erdoğan will meet his Croatian counterpart, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, during the visit, which will focus on improving bilateral trade and investment between the two countries. Turkey aims at growing the current volume trade with Croatia, which is $387 million, to $1 billion in the forthcoming years.