President Mukherjee in Turkey on state visit

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee arrived in Turkey Saturday on a state visit that was coming 15 years after the last visit by an Indian head of state.

He will be conferred an honorary doctorate by Istanbul University. The official part of his visit is only on Monday when he is received ceremonially at the Turkish capital Ankara and has official talks before leaving that same night for New Delhi.

Mukherjee came to Istanbul from Brussels and an official visit to Belgium, the first by an Indian president. He inaugurated a four-month long Indian culture festival there.