PM Modi congratulates Erdogan on re-election as Turkiye President

PM Modi expressed confidence that bilateral ties between the two countries on global issues will continue to grow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his re-election although New Delhi’s relations with Ankara were strained over the past few years, particularly due to the Neo-Ottoman leader’s repeated criticism of India on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).

“Congratulations @RTErdogan on re-election as the President of Türkiye! I am confident that our bilateral ties and cooperation on global issues will continue to grow in the coming times,” Modi tweeted after Erdogan secured five more years in power after winning 52.1% votes in the presidential election run-off.

The prime minister was among the first world leaders to congratulate the 69-year-old president on his victory against his rival and opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.

Also Read: Turkey's Erdogan wins 5th term as President, extending rule into 3rd decade

Ankara’s close ties with Islamabad and its stand against New Delhi on the issue of J&K have been an irritant in the relations between Türkiye and India. Modi, however, visited Türkiye in November 2015 to attend the G20 summit hosted by Erdogan. Modi also played host to Erdogan during his visit to New Delhi in April 2017.

After the Modi Government in August 2019 had moved to strip J&K of its special status and to reorganise the state into two Union Territories, Türkiye supported Pakistan and China, which had launched a global campaign against India.

Erdoğan, himself, in September 2019 referred to the issue in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York and criticised the restrictions, which had been imposed on the people of J&k after the Modi Government’s move to abrogate the Article 370 of the Constitution of India to end the special status of the state.
New Delhi had reacted by cancelling a proposed visit of the prime minister to Ankara. It had also cast a shadow over a proposed deal between the Hindustan Shipyard Limited of India and the Anadolu Shipyard of Türkiye .

Erdogan continued to refer to the issue of J&K in his UN General Assembly speeches in the subsequent years, 2020, 2021 and in 2022. He, however, toned down his criticism against India.

New Delhi had dismissed his comments, stating that no third country could interfere in the bilateral dispute between India and Pakistan on the issue of J&K.

Modi and Erdogan last had a bilateral meeting in Samarkand in Uzbekistan in September 2022 on the sideline of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit

After an earthquake devastated Türkiye in February this year, India had sent search and rescue teams, medics and paramedics as well as food, medicines and other essentials onboard four aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to quake-hit regions of the country.