Türkiye has shown that it is the most reliable candidate to become a member of the European Union, the former president of the U.N. General Assembly said Friday.

Speaking at the 6th TRT World Forum's "A World in Disarray: The Return of Geopolitics?" public session, Volkan Bozkır said: "If there is political consensus, you are a member in a week. But if you do not have a consensus, they will make up excuses."

He also underlined the importance of Türkiye in NATO.

"The U.S. has a big size in NATO, but think about it without Türkiye, NATO will not be there either," he said.

Over the topic of the Russia-Ukraine war, Victor-Viorel Ponta, the former prime minister of Romania, said that he was very pleased to listen to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the matter and added that "it is happy to see people are worried about this crisis and war."

For her part, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Latvia's former president, underlined the importance of grain leaving the Ukrainian ports.

"The fields (in Ukraine) that are rich in their fruits and in their grains and in the produce that is needed across the world have been turned into fields of devastation and mines that threatened to explode at any moment," Vike-Freiberga said. "With his efforts to ensure that at least some of the grain produced by the vast, fertile fields of Ukraine could leave the country."

She also criticized the U.N.'s "outdated" structure by saying it is "totally paralyzed to be able to intervene and to ensure the peace that is so badly needed."

Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, the head of the European Union Delegation to Türkiye, Vincent Biruta, the foreign minister of Rwanda and Mark Kimmitt, the former U.S. assistant secretary of State, was also part of the session where experts discussed the competition between global powers that is intensifying in different regions across the globe, from the Asia-Pacific to the Arctic.

The TRT World Forum 2022, a two-day annual event, started in Istanbul on Friday.

The gathering, which is held under the theme of "Mapping the Future: Uncertainties, Realities and Opportunities" this year, brings together academics, journalists, intellectuals, politicians and members of civil society from around the globe.

Nearly 100 speakers and over 1,000 participants from nearly 40 countries are attending the forum, according to Mehmet Zahid Sobacı, the director general of TRT, Türkiye's public broadcaster.

The forum will feature sessions on various subjects, such as the Ukraine-Russian war, global migration, the energy crisis and disinformation.