Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has formally requested that his country be referred to as “Türkiye” in a letter to the United Nations, according to the state-run news agency
The move is seen as part of Ankara’s efforts to rebrand the country and distance it from the bird, turkey, and some negative connotations associated with it.
The letter was received late Wednesday, according to a spokesman for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Ms Dujarric, according to the agency, stated that the name change was effective “from the moment” the letter was received.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration has advocated for the internationally recognized name Turkey to be changed to Türkiye (tur-key-YAY), as it is spelled and pronounced in Turkish.
Following its declaration of independence in 1923, the country adopted the name Türkiye.
Mr Erdogan ordered the use of Türkiye to better represent Turkish culture and values in December, including requiring that “Made in Türkiye” be used on exported products instead of “Made in Turkey.”
Turkish ministries started using the word Türkiye in official documents.
TRT World, Turkey’s English-language state broadcaster, has switched to Türkiye, though anchors still use the word “Turkey” to get used to the change.
According to TRT World, Turks prefer the name Türkiye because it “addresses the country’s goals of determining how others should identify it.”
