By Janet Ekstract ISTANBUL- At India’s G20 Summit, Turkiye’s President Erdogan called on leaders of the MIKTA partnership – Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkiye and Australia to show solidarity against increasing anti-Muslim hatred. As the Turkish leader highlighted: “The increase and spread of hostility towards Islam along with international terrorism is worrying. These negative developments have reminded us again that we need more solidarity, more understanding of each other and tolerance.” After speaking at a meeting of the MIKTA leaders, Erdogan had talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol. On anti-Muslim sentiment, Erdogan added: “As injustices in the global system grow, the ability of international organizations to produce solutions to these problems is, unfortunately, decreasing.” He said this means that such a situation demands increased responsibility to resolve such injustice through peaceful channels and to guarantee multilateralism.
The Turkish leader reiterated: “Instead of hate crimes, discrimination, Islamaphobia and xenophobia, we need to make mutual respect and a culture of coexistence prevail.” Erdogan added: “It is unacceptable that the most sacred values of two billion people are allowed to be attacked almost every day under the guise of freedom of expression. We believe that everyone who respects humanity, regardless of their religion, should object to this.” Erdogan said that his country will continue speaking up on this issue and reiterated that “international organizations be made fair, democratic, transparent, accountable and effective, with more inclusive representation.” He also said that MIKTA nations have an opportunity to “make constructive contributions,” in the fight against a global food crisis. Erdogan said that he hopes with the cooperation of MIKTA new crises and challenges can be overcome. MIKTA, established in 2013, creates constructive solutions to regional and global challenges while supporting global governance and its effectiveness. MIKTA also works to enhance economic and political ties.
