UNITED NATIONS — Turkey has long advocated that "peace and development are mutually reinforcing," said Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu Wednesday at the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) group of friends session in New York.

The session, held at the UN headquarters was dedicated to strengthening the efforts of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in crafting the post-2015 development agenda.

"No peace will occur without sustainable development and there will be no sustainable development without peace," Mr. Davutoğlu said addressing representatives of the currently 139 members of the UNAOC Group of Friends.

Mutual respect and understanding "are sine qua non for a sustainable peace and long-term stability," said Davutoğlu.

The Turkish Foreign Minister said defining sustainable development goals is one of the most important processes of the last 15 years and has the full support of the Republic of Turkey.

The post development agenda dominated the meeting. The alliance strives to build bridges between diverse cultures and to promote dialogue. It emanates from the belief that dialogue and respect for diversity are crucial elements for building peace and tolerance based on economic growth and sustainability.

Economic growth brings employment, wealth and prosperity "which are essential for a genuine peaceful co-existence," Davutoğlu said, stressing that all development efforts "should be human centered."

- Africa

The Turkish minister said Turkey has strived for "investing in this unbreakable bond between peace and development." Turkey is strongly advocating to the least developed countries (LDC) that "underdevelopment should not be a destiny for any country," particularly in Africa.

Total development assistance made by Turkey reached almost US$ 3.5 billion in 2012, with approximately US$ 2.5 billion through public entities as official development assistance, according to Turkish government sources.

At the same time, TIKA, the Turkish development agency is represented in 32 countries, including nine in Africa, with 35 coordination offices world-wide.