UN approves Turkey's request to change its official name to ‘Turkiye’

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had urged the UN chief with a request to change the country`s name, Xinhua news agency reported.

United Nations: The United Nations has granted Turkey’s request to change its name to Turkiye, a spokesman for the world body said. Addressing reporters, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the change came into force immediately at the time when the world body received a letter from Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to the UN chief with a request to change the country`s name, Xinhua news agency reported.

Cavusoglu reportedly said that the change in the spelling was adopted as part of the steps aimed at increasing the country`s prestige in the international arena.

The Foreign Minister had announced the letter`s official submission to the UN and other international organisations on Tuesday.

"Together with our Directorate of Communications, we have been successful in preparing a good ground for this. We have made it possible for the UN and other international organisations, countries to see this change to using ‘Türkiye`," Cavusoglu told Anadolu Agency.

The initiative to use the country`s foreign name as "Turkiye" at national and international platforms started in December 2021 with a decree signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.