On 20 May 2021, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu participated in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Plenary Meeting, chaired by the President of the UNGA Ambassador Volkan Bozkır, in order to discuss the developments in Palestine.

In his speech at the UN General Assembly, Minister Çavuşoğlu emphasized that there had been an on-going tragedy in Palestine for many years, that Israel was solely responsible for what was happening today in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, that an international protection mechanism should be established for Palestinian civilians and that Turkey would continue to stand by the Palestinian people for the realization of their legitimate aspirations and to protect their rights and freedoms as well.

Minister Çavuşoğlu also held bilateral meetings with his counterparts.

Minister Çavuşoğlu discussed the atrocities in Palestine with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi, and added that he would be pleased to host her at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF).

Then, Minister Çavuşoğlu met with Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid of Maldives and discussed our cooperation on the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

On the same day, Minister Çavuşoğlu had a meeting with Foreign Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah of Kuwait, and noted that they had agreed to mobilize UNGA to support Palestine and that they would meet again at ADF.

Later, Minister Çavuşoğlu discussed the atrocities in Palestine with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi and underlined that we appreciated the firm stance of Jordan, the protector of the holy sites in al-Quds.

Then, Minister Çavuşoğlu thanked Ambassador Volkan Bozkır, President of the 75th Session of UNGA for upholding the Palestinian cause and convening the UNGA Plenary Meeting, and highlighted that Ambassador Bozkır was making a difference in the UN.

Later on, Minister Çavuşoğlu had a meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, where global issues, particularly Palestine, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria were discussed, and stated that there should be a strong reaction from the UN to deter Israel, and reminded UNSG Guterres’ words that “if there is a hell on Earth it is the lives of children in Gaza today”.

On the same day, at the meeting on Palestine, chaired by Ambassador Volkan Bozkır, President of the 75th Session of UNGA, with the participation of Foreign Ministers of the member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Minister Çavuşoğlu stressed that he had emphasized our determination against Israeli oppression and added that the concrete steps to be taken in the upcoming period were also discussed.

Later that day, Minister Çavuşoğlu paid a visit to the Turkish House (Türkevi) building, whose groundbreaking was attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and anticipated that it was going to be one of the symbol buildings of New York City.

Finally, Minister Çavuşoğlu visited the Martyred Diplomats Exhibition in New York, organized by the Directorate of Communications of the Turkish Presidency, and stated that we commemorated with mercy our martyrs, who had lost their lives in heinous terrorist attacks while proudly representing our country all over the world.