The United Nations has approved Turkey’s request to change its name to Türkiye, OduNews reports.
Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, confirmed this to reporters on Thursday.
The change came into force immediately at the time when the world body received a letter from Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to the UN chief with a request to change the country’s name, the spokesman said.
Cavusoglu reportedly said that the change in the spelling was adopted as part of the steps aimed at increasing the country’s prestige in the international arena. The name change is meant to rebrand the nation and dissociate its name from the popular American Thanksgiving dinner bird, turkey, and other unfavourable connotations associated with the word.
The country called itself ‘Türkiye’ in 1923 after it declared independence.
In December, the country’s president Tayyip Erdogan ordered the use of ‘Türkiye’ to better illustrate Turkish culture and values, including mandating that “Made in Türkiye” be used instead of “Made in Turkey” on exported products.
Turkish ministries have begun using ‘Türkiye’ in official documents.
Mr Erdogan issued the circular explaining the decision aims to preserve the values that come from the deep-rooted history of the Turkish nation.
“The phrase Türkiye represents and expresses the culture, civilisation and values of the Turkish nation in the best way,” the circular said. “In this context, the phrase “Made in Türkiye” is now being used instead of “Made in Turkey” on our export products, which are the pride of our country in international trade.”
The Turkish presidency’s directorate of communications launched the campaign “to promote more effectively the use of ‘Türkiye’ as the country’s national and international name on international platforms.”
