Fidan: Establishing a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital is the permanent solution

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan affirmed on Thursday that the permanent solution to the Palestinian issue requires the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. This came during his participation in the seventh summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), held in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku.

For his part, Fidan stressed the necessity of applying the commitment to peace and mutual trust to all conference members, pointing out that Israel violates the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people through a systematic policy of suppression. He called for taking a firm stance to support Palestinian rights and address serious violations, affirming that the permanent solution is based on the 1967 borders.

Turkey's vision for the future of CICA and the climate summit

In the same context, Fidan emphasized that strengthening the CICA organization has become an urgent necessity to ensure peace and prosperity, coinciding with the rising prominence of the Asian continent. He outlined four main priorities, including activating the Middle Corridor across the Caspian Sea to facilitate trade between Asia and Europe, and supporting the development road project extending from the Arabian Gulf to Europe via Iraq and Turkey.

He added that the priorities also include enhancing regional integration and deepening technological and digital cooperation, by utilizing artificial intelligence as a tool for inclusive cooperation rather than for monopoly and conflict. He also announced Turkey's readiness to host and chair the UN Climate Summit "COP31" scheduled in the city of Antalya.

He noted his country's hope that this global summit will constitute a real opportunity to enhance climate justice and support sustainable development paths, and to lead an environmental transformation centered on serving humanity. The CICA organization gathers 28 countries on a common ground of dialogue, with its members covering about 90% of Asia's area and more than half of the world's population.

Turkey is one of the founding members of the conference, having previously hosted its third summit in Istanbul in 2010, and held its rotating presidency between 2010 and 2014.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)