India and Turkey will attempt to put an economic-business overlay to a fairly distant political relationship. In his first visit to India as President, Erdogan will hold talks with PM Narendra Modi and other leaders.The two sides are expected to discuss regional security and terrorism, but both sides remain far apart on many of these issues. Particularly on Kashmir, Erdogan takes an India-unfriendly approach.
Questioned about his views on Kashmir in an interview by a TV channel on the eve of his visit, Erdogan said, “We should not allow more casualties to occur and by strengthening multilateral dialogue, we can be involved, and through multi lateral dialogue, I think we have to seek out ways to settle this question once and for all, which will benefit both countries.“
Turkey is keen to establish its companies in the building industry, where Turkish companies are regarded as the best in the world, often rivalling Chinese companies. They have earlier tried to break into the Indian market but found the real-estate and construction sectors to be very difficult to negotiate. This time, they are hoping Modi's efforts to streamline business will yield dividends.
Several agreements are in the pipeline, but a defence framework agreement will be closely watched, specially given Turkey's close ties with Pakistan. Erdogan is also expected to ask the Indian government to remove all influences of Fethullah Gulen, who he says is responsible for the failed coup against him in 2016. The Middle East and the Syria crisis will form part of the conversations, where Turkey takes a very different position from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
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