Turkish top diplomat to attend key Gaza meet in Madrid

ANKARA

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will attend a key meeting of the Gaza Contact Group, established by two main Islamic organizations, in Madrid, where efforts for giving an end to the Israeli offensive through a permanent agreement and recognition of Palestine as a full state will be discussed.

The group, comprising Türkiye, Palestine, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria, was set at an extraordinary summit of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League in November 2003 with the purpose of ending the war in Gaza and launching a new process for a permanent peace based on two-state formula.

Along with the foreign ministers of the Contact Group, top diplomats from Norway, Slovenia and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell will also attend the meeting, according to diplomatic sources.

The meeting will focus on ending the Israeli attacks on civilians through a permanent agreement, the recognition of Palestine as a state and revival of the process for a two-state solution to the decades-old problem. The Contact Group is expected to be received by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid, the sources said.

Türkiye’s main goal is to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza uninterruptedly and start talks for a two-state solution. These messages have long been conveyed by Fidan during his intense diplomatic activity.

Fidan is expected to underscore the importance of the involvement of more countries in the ongoing case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as well as Palestine’s full membership to the U.N. General Assembly.

He will also call on the international community that the recognition of Palestine as a state by more countries will be very significant in finding a solution to the problem.

Some 149 countries have recognized Palestine as a state.

Meanwhile, Fidan, along with Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief İbrahim Kalın, held a high-level meeting with Uzbek officials in Tashkent on Sept. 12.

The discussions were expected to center on security, migration and counterterrorism efforts. Their agenda was set by a strategic council formed in June, where the two nations signed 18 deals aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.

The Tashkent meeting also covered regional developments and cooperation within international organizations, including the Organization of Turkic States.

“There is a great will of our leaders to institutionalize the cooperation between us and take it to an even higher level,” Fidan said after the talks.

“It is extremely important both for the Turkic world and for both countries to strengthen and institutionalize the strategic cooperation between the two countries in a way to respond to the needs and challenges of modern times.”

Fidan described the June council as a "historic turning point" and emphasized the importance of elevating cooperation.

“Our leaders made important decisions in terms of relations between our two countries... We will continue to work for the realization of the decisions taken by our leaders in June," he added.