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Readout of the Secretary-General’s meeting with H.E. Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey Readout of the Secretary-General’s meeting with H.E. Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey

The Secretary-General met this morning with President Erdogan. The Secretary-General expressed his deep appreciation for the strong cooperation and support of Turkey to the United Nations.

They both expressed their full backing to the ongoing Syria Constitutional Committee meetings and the need to find a political solution to the conflict in line with Security Council Resolution 2254.

President Erdogan presented the Secretary-General with a Turkish plan for new settlement areas for the return of Syrian refugees.

The Secretary-General stressed the basic principles relating to the voluntary, safe and dignified of return of refugees. He informed the President that UNHCR will immediately form a team to study the proposal and engage in discussions with Turkish authorities, in line with its mandate.

They also had a constructive exchange of views on a number of ongoing situations in the region, including Yemen, Libya and the Middle East peace process, as well several additional issues of mutual concern in other parts of the world.

The Secretary-General also reaffirmed his backing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Turkey and a group of development partners in relation to a programme of support for Turkey’s action on climate change.

The Secretary-General also briefed the President on his visit to the UN Technology Bank and thanked Turkey for hosting and financially backing this important initiative. The Secretary-General stressed the need for increased international support for the Bank serving the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in Least Developed Countries.