Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavus✅oglu has sent a letter to the United Nations formally requesting that his country be referred to as “Türkiye,” the state-run news agency reported. The move is seen as part of a push by Ankara to rebrand the country and dissociate its name from the bird, turkey, an𓃲d some negative connotations that are associated with it.
Anadolu Agency said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterreꦓs, confirmed receipt of the letter late on Wednesday. The agency quoted Dujarric as saying that the name change had becom🐽e effective “from the moment” the letter was received.
Pre✤sident Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has been pressing for the internationally recognised name Turkey to be changed to “Türkiye” (tur-key-YAY) as it is spelled and pronounced in Turkish. The country called itself “Türkiye” in 1923 after its declaration of independence.
In December, Erdogan ordered the use of 💯“Türkiye” to better represent Turkish culture and values, including dema🐽nding that “Made in Türkiye” be used instead of “Made in Turkey” on exported products. Turkish ministries began using “Türkiye” in official documents.
Earlier this year, the government also released a promotional video as part of its attempts to change its name in ⛦English. The🅰 video shows tourists from across the world saying “Hello Türkiye” at famous destinations.
The Turkish presidency's Directorate of Communications said it🐼 launched the campaign “to promote more effectively the use of Türkiye' as the country's national and international name on internaꦅtional platforms.”
It was not clear whether the name, with a letter that doesn't exist in the English alphabet, will catch on widely abroad. In 2016, the Czech Republic officially registered its short-form name, Czechia, and while some international institutions use it, many still refer to the country by its long🌌er name.
Turkey's English-language state broa𒐪dcaster TRT World has switched to using “Türkiye” although the word “Turkey” slips in by🔥 journalists still trying to get used to the change.
TRT World 🐬explained the decision in an article earlier this year, saying Googling “Turkey” brings up an “a muddled set of images, articles, and dictionary definitions that conflate the country with Meleagris – otherwise known as the turkey, a large bird native to North America – which is famous for being served on Christmas menus or Thanksgiving dinners.”
The network continued: “Flip through the Cambridge Dictionary and “turkey” is defined as “something that fails ☂badly” or “a stupid or silly person.”
TRT World argue🤪d that Turks prefer their country to be called “Türkiye”, in “keeping with the country's aꦫims of determining how others should identify it.”
