THE United Nations has approved the change of name request from the Republic of Turkey which now wants to be known and addressed as “Türkiye”, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has confirmed.

Dujarric said the country’s name change became effective from the moment the letter was received.

The government had been pushing for the country to be recognised as Turkiye (pronounced tur-key-ye) as it is spelt and pronounced in Turkish since December. It is the name the country called itself when it gained independence in 1923.

In a letter addressed to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, requesting the use of “Türkiye” instead of “Turkey” for all affairs which was received on Wednesday from the Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, the country said the new name better represents Turkish culture and values, allowing them to determine how the country is seen.

Turkish ministers started using it in official documents last year and “Made in Turkey” on exported products has also been ordered to change to “Made in Türkiye”.

RT World, a Turkish news channel, explained in an article earlier this year that googling “turkey” shows a “muddled set of images, articles and dictionary definitions” that confuses the country with the “bird native to North America”.

It added, the Cambridge dictionary defines Turkey as “something that fails badly” or “stupid or silly person”.

Earlier this year the Turkish government released a promotional video showing tourists from around the world saying “Hello Turkiye” at famous destinations.

The Turkish presidency’s directorate of communications said it launched the campaign “to promote more effectively the use of ‘Turkiye’ as the country’s national and international name on international platforms”.