Turkey's president meets with G20 leaders in Italy
President Erdogan met leaders from Asia, Africa, Europe and Americas in the capital Rome.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks to US President Joe Biden during the G20 Leaders' Summit at Roma Convention Center La Nuvola in Rome, Italy on October 30, 2021.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday met with world leaders on the sidelines of the G20 Rome summit.
Erdogan met Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi at the La Nuvola Convention Center, which host the 2021 summit in Italy, the first in-person summit since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 35-minute closed-door meeting was also attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, as well as Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Minister Lutfi Elvan, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, and Justice and Development (AK) Party spokesman Omer Celik.
An official statement by the office of the Italian prime minister described the Erdogan-Draghi meeting as "constructive."
President Erdoğan had constructive meetings with world leaders in the first day of the G-20 summit to address global challenges. He has reiterated Türkiye’s commitment to working with other nations to tackle global problems due to the ongoing pandemic.
— Fahrettin Altun (@fahrettinaltun) October 30, 2021
"Constructive exchange of views on EU-Turkey relations, the Afghan crisis and stability in the Mediterranean, with particular attention to the developments in the intra-Libyan political process," it said.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (3rd R) and his wife Emine Erdogan (3rd L), Italian President Sergio Mattarella (2nd R) and his daughter Laura Mattarella (R), Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi (2nd L) and his wife Maria Serenella Cappello (L) at a dinner in honor of heads of state, government and executives of international organizations at Quirinal Palace within the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Rome, Italy on October 30, 2021.
Responding to a deadly car blast near Yemen's Aden airport, Turkey's Foreign Ministry condemned the violence and wished "God's mercy upon those who lost their lives."
The Turkish president also received Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The two officials held a 30-minute closed-door meeting.
Separately, Erdogan met with EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen for a 30-minute talk. The closed-door meeting was also attended by Cavusoglu.
"Good exchange with Recep Tayyip Erdogan. We took stock of ongoing work on a range of issues, from the pandemic to economic recovery, the situation in Afghanistan and beyond," von der Leyen said on Twitter.
Good exchange with @RTErdogan.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 30, 2021
We took stock of ongoing work on a range of issues, from the pandemic to economic recovery, the situation in Afghanistan and beyond. pic.twitter.com/8gfuXySoRu
Later, the Turkish president held a 30-minute closed-door meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo.
The meeting was also accompanied by Cavusoglu, Elvan, and Altun.
Erdogan, Biden meeting
US President Biden and President Erdogan had a chat before the family picture which is planned to set a meeting during the summit.
The White House announced the leaders to have a one-on-one meeting on Sunday in Rome. The meeting has not been confirmed by the Turkish side yet.
Both presidents have many issues on the table that are seeking to resolve.
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Erdogan and Biden to meet in Rome. Here is all you need to know pic.twitter.com/9zCZoCE3ao
— TRT World (@trtworld) October 30, 2021
On the other side, the Turkish president also had a chat with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on the sidelines of the G20. According to a video released by UOL media outlet, Bolsonaro tells that country's national petroleum company Petrobras is a "problem" but they are "breaking monopolies".
The 2021 G20 summit, which has convened the leaders of the world's 20 leading economies and representatives of international organisations, began in Rome on Saturday.
The two-day summit, hosted by the G20 term president Italy, was inaugurated by Italian Premier Draghi.
The group of the 20 largest and most advanced economies is to address the coronavirus pandemic, ways to foster a robust economic recovery and boost global cooperation on climate action.
Meetings are also expected to discuss the migrant crisis and other geopolitical issues.
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