President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday met with world leaders on the sidelines of the G-20 Rome summit, as Ankara described diplomatic contacts as "constructive."
Erdoğan met Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi at the La Nuvola Convention Center, which hosted the 2021 summit in Italy, the first in-person summit since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 35-minute closed-door meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio, as well as Turkey's Treasury and Finance Minister Lütfi Elvan, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun and ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) spokesperson Ömer Çelik.
An official statement by the office of the Italian prime minister described the Erdoğan-Draghi meeting as "constructive."
"Constructive exchange of views on EU-Turkey relations, the Afghan crisis and stability in the Mediterranean, with particular attention to the developments in the intra-Libyan political process," it said.
The Turkish president also received Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The two officials held a 30-minute closed-door meeting.
Separately, Erdoğan met with European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen for a 30-minute talk. The closed-door meeting was also attended by Çavuşoğlu.
"Good exchange with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. We took stock of ongoing work on a range of issues, from the pandemic to economic recovery, the situation in Afghanistan and beyond," von der Leyen said on Twitter.
Later, the Turkish president held a 30-minute closed-door meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo.
The meeting was also accompanied by Çavuşoğlu, Elvan and Altun.
Meanwhile, Altun said on Twitter that Erdoğan had "constructive meetings" with world leaders on the first day of the summit, and reiterated Turkey's commitment to working with other nations to tackle global problems due to the ongoing pandemic.
He noted that during the meeting with von der Leyen, Widodo, Draghi and Rutte, Erdoğan conveyed Turkey's readiness to do its "fair share" to address the pandemic's consequences.
"While the global economy has been shrinking, the Turkish economy has recorded significant growth in the past three quarters thanks to our President Erdoğan's leadership. Our country has avoided imposing trade barriers and protectionist policies during the pandemic," Altun noted.
Altun also reiterated that his country continued to help other nations in "these historic times" by sending some 160 countries medical equipment and other aid.
He underlined that Turkey has made "significant progress" in its vaccination program, which is "crucial" in keeping the economy open.
Altun also recalled that Turkey is developing its indigenous vaccine, which will be available to the country's citizens "very soon."
"President Erdoğan continues to create solutions to global challenges in the most important platforms like G-20. He underlines the importance of cooperation between advanced economies and less developed nations to overcome the problems of our world."
The 2021 G-20 summit, which has convened the leaders of the world's 20 leading economies and representatives of international organizations, began in Rome on Saturday.
The two-day summit, hosted by G-20 term president Italy, was inaugurated by Draghi.
The group of the 20 largest and most advanced economies is to address the coronavirus pandemic, ways to foster a robust economic recovery and boost global cooperation on climate action.
Meetings are also expected to discuss the migrant crisis and other geopolitical issues.
The Rome summit is the 16th G-20 gathering at the level of heads of state and government. The first was held in Washington in November 2008, and the previous one was held online under the presidency of Saudi Arabia in November 2020.
The forum has met every year since 1999, and includes, since 2008, a yearly summit, with the participation of the heads of states and governments.
