IRENA AKBAR Vice-President Hamid Ansari termed his five-day visit to Turkey,which concluded Saturday morning,substantive and satisfying. In Ankara,the first stop of his tour,he said serious and substantive discussions were discussed with the Speaker of Turkeys Grand National Assembly,Cemil Cicek,President Abdullah Gul,Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. We touched upon a great deal of subjects including foreign policy,bilateral economic relations,as well as the way forward in West Asia,North Africa and Afghanistan, said Ansari on board his flight from Istanbul on Saturday. On the business front,he talked of the interest shown by both countries in various sectors. We have identified infrastructure as an area of Turkish expertise. Of course,there are 100-odd Indian companies in Turkey as well, said Ansari. The trip to Turkey,he said,was taken as India understands that Turkey is one of those countries we need to engage with seriously in terms of foreign policy and bilateral economic ties. In discussions on Afghanistan (next conference which is in Istanbul,of which India is a part),with the Turkish leadership,Ansari said the peace process,besides being transparent and inclusive,has to be Afghan-led. There has been repeatedly a great deal of foreign interference because of which no solution to the Afghan problem has been stable, he said.
