Congress asks Centre to clarify India's relations with Turkey

New Delhi, May 14 Congress on Wednesday asked the Union government to clarify the diplomatic relationship between India and Turkey following the Middle Eastern country's open support to Pakistan during the Operation Sindoor.

“Since this question is being raised by an office bearer of the BJP, @PMOIndia & @DrSJaishankar should immediately clarify if the government of India has snapped all diplomatic & trade relations with Turkey and has also shut their embassy in India. The decision on whether or not to have a relationship with any country has to be taken by the government and not the opposition. @MEAIndia kindly clarify,” Congress Chairman, Media & Publicity Deptt Pawan Khera wrote on X while responding to In-charge of BJP's National Information & Technology Dept, Amit Malviya, who had criticised the Congress for remaining “disconnected” to the public sentiment following Turkey’s support to Pakistan.

Earlier, Amit Malviya wrote on X that the country is enraged by the support Turkey and Azerbaijan have extended to the terror state of Pakistan.

“There has been a growing call to boycott trade and tourism with these countries, and private citizens have stood up in solidarity. But the Congress party can’t even bring itself to align with the broader sentiment of the Indian people. No wonder it remains so disconnected from the public. It deserves its political oblivion and complete isolation,” he added.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Indian tourists have cancelled their trips to Turkey and Azerbaijan as these countries supported Pakistan in the conflict with India following the massacre of 26 tourists in Kashmir’s Pahalgam by Islamabad-backed terrorists.

As per the Azerbaijan Tourism Board, as many as 243,589 Indian tourists visited the country in 2024. The tourism board expects a growth of 11 per cent from now until the next 10 years.

Turkey saw Indian arrivals at 3,30,000 passengers in 2024, while the number stood at 119,503 in 2014 as per the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey.

The estimated spend per Indian tourist in Turkey is $1,200–1,500, with the total estimated Indian tourist spend in Turkey in 2023 working out to $350–400 million (approximately Rs 3,000 crore)

Turkey is a country that is highly dependent on tourism, with the sector contributing as much as 12 per cent to the country’s GDP. The tourism sector accounts for 10 per cent of the total employment in the country. India is one of Turkey’s fastest-growing source markets.

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