DAYS AHEAD of a historic referendum in Turkey over presidential powers, the country’s powerful President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has conveyed his willingness to visit New Delhi on April 30-May 1, top sources have confirmed to The Indian Express. Erdogan — who is set to hold a massive referendum in Turkey on April 16 to bring in constitutional change, turning Turkey from a parliamentary to a presidential republic, scrapping the post of prime minister and consolidating his hold on the country — is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 1. Confirming the visit, a source said: “If the Turkish President wins, it will be among his first bilateral trips overseas after the referendum.” Erdogan is scheduled to arrive in Delhi on April 30. Erdogan had visited India in 2008, when he was Turkey’s Prime Minister. After 11 years as Prime Minister, he was elected President in 2014. This will be his first visit to India as President. Erdogan will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari during his two-day visit. “It will be a short, but an important high-profile visit from the region,” said an official involved with planning the visit. Officials said Modi and Erdogan have met each other on the sidelines of the G-20 summits. At the G-20 summit in Antalya (Turkey) on November 15-16 2015, they held bilateral talks on the margins of the summit. It was one of three or four bilateral meetings Modi had during the summit. Shortly after the failed coup bid last year, Modi had called up Erdogan on August 29 and expressed solidarity with Turkey and its leadership. They again met in Hangzhou (China) on September 5 last year, on the sidelines of the G20 summit. During his visit to India, one of the major focus areas will be India’s application for becoming a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Turkey, which has not given unqualified support to India, has insisted on “criteria-based approach”. New Delhi has perceived this as tacit support to Pakistan’s application. “This will be a good opportunity to put India’s perspective to Erdogan and obtain his support,” said a source. India will also make “common cause” with Turkey on combating terrorism — a menace faced by both countries. “Erdogan understands the threat from terrorist groups, including the Islamic State, and it would be an important element in the conversation. Turkey has been seen to be supportive of Pakistan’s position on Kashmir. India will raise the issue of its battle with Pakistan-based terrorism groups, and there will be discussions on intelligence-sharing on terrorist threats,” sources said. From Turkey’s point of view, the presence of Fethullah Gulen’s supporters and sympathisers in India will be an important element of discussion, since Gulen has been accused of carrying out the failed coup bid last year. “We want to impress on New Delhi that Gulenists cannot be treated with kid gloves, and action should be taken against them,” said a Turkish government source. Last year, several Turkish government ministers and officials had spoken about the presence of some Gulenists in India, but Delhi had asked for concrete evidence to act against them. Besides, the two sides will also discuss practical ways to strengthen economic and commercial cooperation. Several bilateral agreements and institutional mechanisms, at the governmental level as well as B2B, provide the framework for strengthening economic and commercial ties. The Bilateral Trade Agreement between India and Turkey was signed in 1973.
