Turkey has informed the United Nations that, at the request of its president, it now desires to be referred to as "Türkiye" in all languages.
"The change is immediate," Stephane Dujarric, the UN chief's spokesperson, told AFP by email.
He stated that the official letter requesting the adjustment was received on Wednesday at the UN's New York headquarters.
"It's not an issue, it's not for us to accept or not accept," Dujarric said. "Countries are free to choose the way they want to be named. It doesn't happen every day but it's not unusual that countries change their names."
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavasoglu had tweeted a photo of himself signing the letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres the day before.
"With the letter I sent to the UN Secretary-General today, we are registering our country's name in foreign languages at the UN as 'Türkiye'," he wrote, including an umlaut over the "u".
In recent years, the government has attempted to modify the labeling on its products from "made in Turkey" to "made in Türkiye"
The country's rebranding drive began in December, during a moment of surging inflation and a growing economic crisis, when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a memorandum requesting that the name Türkiye be used by other countries.
"The name change may seem silly to some, but it puts Erdogan in the role of protector, of safeguarding international respect for the country," Georgetown University professor Mustafa Aksakal was quoted as saying in the New York Times.
The country adopted the name Türkiye (pronounced "tur-key-YAY") after declaring independence in 1923, according to The Associated Press. The Turkish people are familiar with that moniker, and the anglicized version is also widely used within the country.
The country launched a tourism promotion called "Hello Türkiye," in January, with a video showing travelers saying the slogan at various locations throughout the country. The campaign's purpose, according to state broadcaster TRT World, was to "announce and raise global awareness about using the country's original name."
Turkish officials and state-run media claim that the campaign to have the country recognized worldwide as Türkiye is motivated by a desire to establish its identity and distance itself from some less appealing associations (and search results).
In addition to matching how the country is spelled in Turkish, the update would help separate the country from the bird of the same name in English.
