UN chief visits Türkiye, receives peace award

ANKARA

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in Türkiye on March 11 for his annual Ramadan solidarity trip, receiving a peace award named after Türkiye’s founding leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and holding talks with senior Turkish officials.

Guterres accepted the Atatürk International Peace Award on March 12 in the capital Ankara on behalf of U.N. personnel worldwide. The recognition comes at a time of significant global challenges and widespread human suffering, particularly the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran.

During the visit, the U.N. chief held meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The discussions was planned to focus on cooperation between the United Nations and Türkiye as well as developments in the wider region.

As part of the visit, Guterres met with representatives of nongovernmental organizations supporting refugees to praise the "extraordinary generosity of the Turkish people" in hosting displaced populations. He also visited the Directorate of Migration Management's provincial unit in Ankara.

Türkiye hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world, with nearly 2.5 million refugees and asylum seekers, including more than 2.3 million Syrians, according to official figures.

The Atatürk International Peace Award was established in 1986 to honor individuals and organizations contributing to global peace, in line with Atatürk’s principle, “Peace at home, peace in the world.”