Ankara, Sept 16: With terrorism and the volatile
situation in neighbouring Iraq high on his agenda, Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee arrived here today to a red
carpet welcome on a three-day visit to Turkey, the first by
the head of an Indian government in 15 years.
Vajpayee, leading a high-level delegation, will hold
wide-ranging parleys with Turkish President Ahmet Nacdet Sezer
and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on issues of mutual
concern including us draft resolution for a multilateral force
in Iraq and West Asia crisis.
The tone for the visit was set with Vajpayee telling
reporters in Delhi before emplaning that political and
economic factors encouraged an expansion of Indo-Turkish
cooperation.
"Our relations with turkey are as old as its great
civilization. We are now witnessing a new commitment and surge
to our cooperation....We share common values on secularism
and democracy," he said.
Describing turkey as an important country straddling
Europe and Asia, he said, "I look forward to exchanging views
on international and regional issues with Turkish Prime
Minister and other leaders".
Vajpayee, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit
Turkey since Rajiv Gandhi's trip in 1988, said bilateral
exchanges have intensified and trade increased significantly.
Bureau Report
