President confident of closer ties with Turkey

President Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday greeted Turkey on the eve of its national day and expressed confidence that bilateral relations between the two countries will deepen as time progresses.

In his message to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, Mukherjee said: "On behalf of the government and the people of India and on my own behalf, I have the pleasure to extend my warm greetings and felicitations to you and to the government and the people of Turkey on the occasion of your national day."

With wishes of good health, prosperity and welfare to the president and the people of Turkey, Mukherjee said it was a matter of satisfaction that "the deep-rooted relations between our two countries continue to be marked by friendship, mutual understanding and cooperation".

He added: "I am confident that our bilateral relations will further diversify and deepen with the passage of time to the mutual benefit of the people of our two countries."