NSG talk to dominate Modi-Erdogan meet

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will seek Turkey’s endorsement for India’s bid to enter the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) when he meets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New Delhi on Monday.

Though Turkey has been supportive of Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir, Modi will put forward India’s position on the dispute and convey its concern over terrorism emanating from the neighbouring country. The two leaders will also discuss ways to step up counter-terror cooperation with focus on sharing of intelligence.

Erdogan will commence a two-day visit to India on April 30.

This will be his first foreign visit after winning a referendum on an amendment in the constitution that significantly increased his power. He will meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari before holding a meeting with Modi at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on May 1.

Modi and Erdogan will discuss the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. India and Turkey set up a joint study group in 2010 in order to explore the feasibility and possibility of concluding such an agreement.

India is Turkey’s second largest trading partner in the Asia-Pacific region. Turkish exports to India increased by almost 69% from January 2016 to March 2017.

“We are aware of the strong relations between Turkey and Pakistan. This is a bilateral matter between them. Our ties with Turkey stand on its own footing,” Ruchi Ghanashyam, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, told journalists in New Delhi.