Gul welcomes Indian counterpart at Presidential Palace

President Abdullah Gul welcomed his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee, who is paying a state visit to Turkey, with an official ceremony at the Cankaya Presidential Palace on Monday. Following the welcoming ceremony, the two presidents had a tete-a-tete and chaired the talks between their delegations. During President Mukherjee's visit to Turkey, which is the first such visit from India to Turkey in 15 years, the regional and global developments as well as bilateral relations between Turkey and India were discussed. Furthermore, Turkey and India signed 11 agreements to enhance cooperation between the two countries, most of which are between Turkish and Indian universities. Others were signed by the state broadcasters of Turkey and India, as well as the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and India's Ministry of Science and Technology. Attending the signature ceremony were Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, Culture and Tourism Minister Omer Celik, Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Binali Yildirim and Chairman of Higher Education Institution (YOK) Gokhan Cetinsaya. Gul also hosted an official dinner in honor of Mukherjee at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. As part of his state visit to Turkey, Mukherjee also met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.