Welcome to “Türkiye” ! In a letter to the UN, Ankara asks to no longer be called “Turquie” in French, and especially “Turkey” in English. The country prefers its Turkish name “Türkiye”.
Stop calling it “Turkey” or “Turkey” at the United Nations. The Asian country closest to Europe is now officially called in all languages by its Turkish name “Türkiye”, a will of its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced the UN, this Thursday, June 2. And “the change is immediate,” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, told AFP. An official letter from Ankara received at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Wednesday formalized the change of name of the country of more than 84 million souls, said the diplomat.
Increase “the brand” of Türkiye
On Tuesday, the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Cavusoglu, had already posted on Twitter, signing this letter addressed to the Secretary General of the United Nations and demanding that “the name of our country at the UN, in foreign languages, be registered like ‘Türkiye'”. In his message, the head of Turkish diplomacy also referred to the will of the Turkish president, to “increase the value of the brand of our country” since the end of 2021.
In fact, Ankara is thus asking to no longer be called “Turkey” in French, and especially “Turkey” in English, which also means “turkey”, and which could therefore have a negative connotation. For several years, the capital has also been trying to impose the “made in Türkiye” brand internationally at the expense of “made in Turkey”.
Ankara is thus asking that the country no longer be called “Turkey” in French and “Turkey” in English. The head of Turkish diplomacy referred in his tweet to President Erdogan’s desire, since the end of 2021, to “increase the brand value of our country”. In fact, in economic matters, Ankara has wanted for several years to impose the “made in Türkiye” brand internationally at the expense of “made in Turkey”.
“Some may find this name change silly, but it puts Erdogan in the role of protector and safeguard of international respect for the country”, analyzes Mustafa Aksakal, professor of history at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. quoted Thursday by the New York Times.
