Türkiye's foreign minister pursues intense diplomatic efforts over past 3 weeks

By Busranur Koca

ANKARA (AA) — Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan engaged in intensive diplomatic talks over the past three weeks, holding bilateral meetings with the officials of a total of countries.

Fidan met with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani during a visit to Doha, the Gulf nation's capital, on April 17.

During the meeting, the two foreign ministers discussed bilateral relations, as well as the situation in Palestine and regional developments.

Fidan also met with officials from Palestinian resistance group Hamas during his Doha visit.

- Visits by Egyptian, Indonesian, Kuwaiti foreign ministers

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry paid an official visit to Türkiye on April 20.

After a bilateral meeting with Fidan, the duo held a joint news conference in Istanbul.

Separately, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi visited Türkiye on May 1.

Fidan and Marsudi held a joint news conference in the capital Ankara, after holding talks.

On May 7, Fidan also met with his Kuwaiti counterpart Abdullah Ali al-Yahya, who had visited Ankara for talks.

- Visit to Saudi capital for meeting on Gaza

Fidan paid a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh on April 28-29 to attend a meeting of the Gaza Contact Group, formed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League.

On the margins of the event, Fidan met with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

He also held separate talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as well as Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, and Saudi Arabia's top diplomat Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud.

Fidan later came together with his counterparts Espen Barth Eide of Norway, Yemen's Shaya Mohsen al-Zindani, and Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia.

- OIC summit in Gambia

Almost a week later, Fidan embarked on a visit to Banjul, capital of Gambia, to attend the 15th Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit.

During the trip, which took place on May 4-5, Fidan met with Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Pakistani Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishak Dar, and Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita of Morocco.

*Writing by Esra Tekin in Istanbul