Turkey welcomed the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of a draft resolution prepared with member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on “Measures to Combat Islamophobia” (Islamophobia).

This came in a statement published by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday regarding the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, corresponding to March 15 of each year.

The ministry said: “On the fifth anniversary of the heinous terrorist attack that occurred in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15, 2019, we respectfully commemorate the 51 people who lost their lives in the attack, one of whom was our citizen, and we wish them God’s mercy.”

The statement called on the international community to adopt a common stance against “Islamophobia” on the occasion of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.

It stressed that Turkey welcomed the adoption of the draft resolution on combating Islamophobia, which was prepared with the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the United Nations General Assembly.

On Friday, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution entitled: “Measures to combat Islamophobia” during a meeting on the occasion of the International Day to Combat Islamophobia, or “Islamophobia.”

115 countries voted in favor of the draft resolution submitted by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, while 44 countries abstained from voting. No country voted against the resolution.

Turkey is among the group that prepared and submitted the draft resolution.

The resolution condemns any call for religious hatred and incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence against Muslims, “as evidenced by the increasing incidents of desecration of their Holy Book and attacks targeting mosques, sites, and shrines.”

In its resolution, the General Assembly calls on Member States to take the necessary measures to combat religious intolerance, stereotypes, negativity, hatred, and incitement and practice of violence against Muslims, and to prohibit, by law, incitement to and practice of violence on the basis of religion or belief.

The resolution also calls for the appointment of a special UN envoy to combat Islamophobia.

On March 15, 2019, Christchurch, New Zealand, witnessed a horrific massacre, as a terrorist named Brenton Tarrant attacked worshipers at the Al-Nour and Linwood mosques with machine guns.

The terrorist massacre, which the perpetrator broadcast live on his Facebook account, resulted in the death of 51 people and the injury of 50 others, according to official figures.

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The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) extended a hand of friendship and assistance to many countries around the world during the year 2023, through 1,326 projects and events in various fields.

TIKA, which was founded in 1992, has so far implemented more than 30,000 projects and events, 93 percent of which were after 2002.

Through these projects and events, the Turkish hand of friendship extended to the world from Palestine to Arakan, from Bosnia and Herzegovina to South Africa, from Mongolia to Latin America.

TIKA projects have contributed to strengthening Turkey’s presence in the field of global cooperation, as the number of countries in which it is active has reached 170 by 2023.

During the past year, 3,200 foreign experts benefited from the educational courses held by TIKA in various fields, while this number has approached 50,000 foreign experts since 2002.

TIKA was present in many natural disasters that occurred in 2023, in order to alleviate the victims, such as the earthquakes in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the floods in Libya and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In his speech, the president of TIKA said that they continue to implement projects in various fields around the world in line with the vision of the “Century of Turkey.”

He added that the Turkish agency contributes a major role to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

He stated that TIKA has completed the restoration of 140 archaeological monuments in 40 countries over the past 20 years, while restoration work on 6 projects is currently ongoing.

Regarding Palestine, Kayalar explained that they implemented nearly 1,100 projects in Palestine, in addition to conducting many campaigns to distribute humanitarian aid.

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Pakistani President Arif Alvi said that his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan showed a courageous stance regarding Gaza.

This came on the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the Turkish Republic, and it touched on various issues, including the situation in the Gaza Strip.

Pakistani President Alvi said: “On behalf of the people and government of Pakistan, I extend my sincere congratulations to my brother, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the Turkish Republic.”

Alvi pointed out that the exceptional relationship between Turkey and Pakistan is based on mutual understanding on global issues, and stated that Turkey stands with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.

Regarding the Israeli attacks on Gaza, Alvi said that Turkey has shown great leadership in confronting the brutality in Gaza.

He added: “My brother Erdogan showed a courageous stance on Gaza. I believe that the Islamic world will also take a courageous stance on this issue.”

Alvi stated that what is happening in Gaza is very painful, and said, “Kashmir and Gaza. But what is happening in Gaza cannot be compared to anything that happened in the world.”

On the other hand, Alvi pointed out that the Anatolia region has always embraced those who sought refuge there following every calamity that befell Europe in the past four or five centuries.

He added: “The world has forgotten how Muslims have embraced people of all religions in Anatolia and Andalusia throughout history.”

Turkey celebrates “Republic Day” on October 29 of each year, which is the anniversary of the declaration of the republic by its founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in 1923.

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Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced the deportation of 42,875 irregular immigrants between June 1 and September 22 of this year.

This came in response to journalists’ questions following a Turkish government meeting in the presidential complex in the capital, Ankara.

He pointed out that 97,363 irregular immigrants were arrested since he assumed his duties in early June until September 22.

He pointed out that 105,488 foreigners left the country whose visas and residency expired.

He stated that the previous numbers do not include cross-border infiltration attempts by the Ministry of Defense, which numbered 70,796.

Regarding the countries from which most irregular migrants come, the minister stated that they are coming across the Iranian border from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

In this context, Yerlikaya reported that the Ministry of Interior will begin activating the application of mobile immigration offices throughout Turkey, starting next November 1.

He touched on the importance of the application by saying: “We will check people’s identities everywhere, including football matches. However, if we take a tourist or a foreigner who has a residence permit and does not have an identity card or a passport, we will not send him to the deportation centers. We succeeded in that through the application.” The experimental trial, which lasted 9 weeks in Istanbul.

He continued: “We need to move keeping in mind the zero error, because we are a tourist country.”

Regarding the workers in the mobile immigration offices, Yerlikaya said: “Our immigration experts and translators work at the center, who will provide communication with foreigners.”

In another context, Yerlikaya revealed a visit by Bulgarian Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov to Turkey on October 10.

He pointed to mutual cooperation between Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece to combat irregular migration by land and sea.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed the need for the Islamic world to move together in combating the rising Islamophobia and xenophobia in Western countries.

This came in a video message he sent to the dinner party of the forty-sixth annual conference of the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America (APPNA), which was held on Saturday evening in Dallas, United States.

President Erdogan noted that “Turkey and Pakistan are two brotherly countries with exceptional relations,” and appreciated the assistance provided by the Pakistani people to Turkey following the earthquake disaster on February 6.

He pointed out that Americans of Pakistani origin also rushed to provide aid for the afflicted in Turkey through a campaign organized by the Medical Association.

In his message, President Erdogan touched on the rise of Islamophobia and xenophobia in the West.

“We must act together in combating the rising Islamophobia and xenophobia in Western countries,” he said.

He pointed out that “the despicable attack on our holy book, the Holy Quran, in Sweden on the first day of Eid al-Adha reveals the frightening dimensions that anti-Islam has reached.”

And he added, “There are great responsibilities placed on all of us, all Muslims, to ensure that such actions are not repeated, to which Turkey is showing a very strong reaction.”

And he continued: “If we are united in the heart of one man, no one in the world will dare attack the sanctities of Muslims.”

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A French NATO cargo plane arrived in the Turkish state of Adana, carrying humanitarian aid intended for those affected by the earthquake disaster.

The plane landed on Wednesday at the Incirlik military base in Adana, carrying aid sent from the International Organization for Migration and Pakistan.

He explained that the aid includes thousands of blankets and tents sent by the International Organization for Migration and other humanitarian necessities granted by Pakistan to the affected people.

The Turkish authorities supervised the removal of humanitarian aid from the plane to be transported to the earthquake-affected areas via the relief air bridge and trucks.

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Sunday, the death toll from the sinking of a wooden boat carrying migrants off the coast of Calabria, southern Italy, rose to 70.

The official Italian news agency ANSA said that search and rescue teams recovered the body of a child from the victims of the boat sinking on Sunday off the town of Cutro in Calabria.

The agency stated, “The body of a 12-year-old boy was found on the beach of Potrichello from the sinking of the wooden boat that was carrying 200 irregular migrants from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan in the rough seas last week.”

On Saturday, rescue teams found the body of another child, about 3 years old, in the waters off Kotro, according to the same source.

ANSA added that at least 16 minors died in the disaster, while at least 80 people survived.

Security reports estimate that between 27 and 47 people are still missing.

For her part, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is on an official visit to Abu Dhabi, denied reports that “her government may have hindered operations that would have saved the victims,” according to ANSA on Saturday.

According to the report, Meloni was considering holding her “next ministerial meeting in Kotro, the city where the disaster occurred, with the aim of focusing on the issue of immigration.”

“Melloni reiterated that the Italian authorities had not received a warning from the European border agency Frontex that the fishing boat in which the asylum seekers were traveling, which had been wrecked in rough waters, was in trouble,” she added.

“An investigation has been opened to determine whether rescue efforts were delayed due to negligence,” she added.

The death toll from the previous accident was 67, according to what the Italian Coast Guard announced on Wednesday.

The boat wrecked after hitting a coral reef in rough seas, according to Italian news reports.

The tragedy comes just days after Meloni’s right-wing government passed a controversial new law on migrant rescue in parliament.

The new law forces aid ships to make only one rescue attempt at a time, which critics say threatens to increase the number of drownings in the Mediterranean at the world’s most dangerous crossing for people seeking refuge in Europe.

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The University of Lahore, Pakistan, has sent tons of aid to those affected by the earthquake disaster in Turkey.

Various segments of society in Pakistan continue to do their best to support Turkey after the disaster.

While civil organizations are organizing donation campaigns in response to an appeal from the Pakistani government, schools, mosques and universities continue to collect aid and send it to those affected by the earthquake in Turkey.

The University of Lahore has sent a large amount of aid and is still collecting aid for those affected by the earthquake.

The university purchases tents with cash assistance, while collecting in-kind assistance in a warehouse it has designated for this purpose.

Students, staff and academics of the university contribute greatly to this campaign.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lahore, Nasir Mahmood, said that they rushed to organize an aid campaign following the earthquake disaster in Turkey.

He explained that they have so far sent 1,000 tents suitable for winter conditions, 300 sleeping bags, 20,000 blankets and 10,000 boxes of pasta.

He pointed out that they are in contact with the “Aziz Mahmoud Hodayi” endowment in Turkey, and they quickly sent aid in cooperation with Turkish Airlines.

He noted that there is great support for the aid collection campaign by students and academics at the university.

He pointed out that they have prepared 5,000 food parcels, with the support of volunteers, on their way to Turkey.

For his part, master’s student Hassan Mehar said that they are working day and night to send aid quickly, stressing that they stand by their Turkish brothers at this difficult time.

On February 6, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria, followed by another with a magnitude of 7.6 and thousands of violent aftershocks, killing tens of thousands of people and leaving huge material damage.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Thursday Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the capital, Ankara.

The meeting between the two leaders took place in the Presidential Complex in Ankara, away from the media.

He stated that the meeting between Erdogan and Sharif lasted an hour and 20 minutes.

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The Turkish Ministry of Education is organizing an international summit on early childhood education in Istanbul on February 9 and 10.

During the summit, the steps taken to spread pre-school education and raise its quality will be discussed, in addition to discussing “Vision 2023 for Early Childhood Education” in Turkey.

Ministers and academics from many countries, experts in the field of education, and representatives of international and civil organizations will participate in the summit, which will be held in cooperation with UNICEF.

Turkish Minister of Education, Mahmoud Ozer, sent invitation letters to his counterparts in 17 countries to participate in the summit.

Ozer sent the letters to the education ministers of Azerbaijan, Czechia, Denmark, Georgia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, South Korea, Kosovo, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Hungary, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania, Thailand and Kazakhstan.

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