President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas for a bilateral meeting in Istanbul on Saturday, Turkey’s Communications Directorate said.
The closed-door meeting, which lasted about one hour and 15 minutes, was held at the Vahdettin Pavilion in the Çengelköy quarter of the Asian district of Üsküdar.
Following the presidents’ meeting, delegations from both countries met for talks also attended by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) chief Hakan Fidan.
Abbas is on a three-day visit to Turkey at Erdoğan’s invitation.
All aspects of relations between Turkey and Palestine will be discussed during his trip, Turkey’s Communications Directorate said in a previous statement on Friday.
Ways to boost bilateral cooperation, the humanitarian situation in Palestine, and the latest developments in the Israel-Palestine conflict will be discussed, the statement said.
Also expected to be on the agenda are efforts for reconciliation between various Palestinian groups, as well as the highly anticipated elections in Palestine, it added.