NEW YORK - Turkey`s foreign minister said on Tuesday that Turkey wanted a more effective, influential, representative and functional United Nations (UN).
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan met Srgjan Kerim, the president of the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly, in New York and expressed Turkey`s wish that the UN should be a more effective, influential, representative and functional organization.
Babacan also gave the message that the UN should continue being in the middle of the picture for settlement and preservation of world peace and stability.
Turkey`s foreign minister is actually in New York to lobby for election of Turkey as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.
During his meeting with Kerim, Babacan underlined importance of UN`s taking an effective role against global problems caused by hike in oil and food prices and environmental problems.
Babacan briefed Kerim on Iran`s nuclear file and the dialogue launched between Syria and Israel, and said that Turkey backed "dialogue" in settlement of disputes, and assumed an approach "embracing every one, not excluding them."
Also speaking in a meeting of underdeveloped countries, Babacan said that problems faced in development could not be overcome by financial assistance, but required collective approach.
Babacan highlighted importance of developing a "multi-lateral" approach to problems like energy, food crisis, hunger, AIDS and poverty, and gave a message that assistance and cooperation would be maintained to help underdeveloped countries to achieve their development goals.
Turkish minister Babacan also had a meeting with the Latin America and Caribbean group in the UN, and said that there would be geographical distance between countries but what brought countries together was the values they shared.
Babacan is expected to meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday.
(BRC-AÖ)
(DIP)