Turkish parliament head holds 2-way talks at 143rd IPU Assembly in Spain

The speaker of Turkey's parliament held bilateral talks in Spain's capital on Saturday as part of the 143rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

Mustafa Şentop met with Meritxell Batet, the assembly's host and president of Spain's lower legislative chamber, the Congress of Deputies. He also held separate meetings with Burundian Senate head Emmanuel Sinzohagera and Puan Maharani, the speaker of Indonesia's People's Representative Council.

Şentop also held a bilateral meeting with the chairman of Indonesia's Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation, Fadli Zon.

Bilateral ties were at the top of the agenda during the meetings, as were joint steps to be taken under 143rd IPU Assembly.

During his meeting with Sinzohagera, the Turkish parliament chief also underlined that bilateral consultations would be very useful for developing a common approach on global and regional issues.

Şentop noted that Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a productive meeting in September with his Burundian counterpart Evariste Ndayishimiye during the 76th UN General Assembly.

He added that with Turkey and Burundi opening embassies in each other's capital, bilateral relations and cooperation had gained significant momentum.