{"id":1636,"date":"2022-04-04T03:46:19","date_gmt":"2022-04-04T02:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cgi.erigin.net\/?p=1636"},"modified":"2026-10-15T17:29:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T16:29:54","slug":"turkeys-asia-anew-initiative-and-antalya-diplomacy-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cgi.erigin.net\/en\/turkeys-asia-anew-initiative-and-antalya-diplomacy-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkey\u2019s \u2018Asia Anew\u2019 Initiative and Antalya Diplomacy Forum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two key Turkish Foreign Policy platforms played a joint role during \u00a0March 2021; \u2018Asia Anew\u2019 and Antalya Diplomacy Forum. The Antalya Diplomacy Forum was held on March 11-12-13. The first meeting between Ukraine and Russia after the war was also held at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. This key meeting was hosted by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba taking part.<\/span> Under the new Turkish Foreign Policy initiative, one of the main themes was Asia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey has been struggling to find its diplomatic role since the end of the Cold War. Due to Turkey’s geostrategic position between Asia and Europe, and its long border with the Middle East, Turkey has maintained a \u2018balanced diplomacy\u2019. Its strong economic and political ties with the \u2018western-oriented world\u2019 kept Turkey focused on developments in the ‘West’. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it rediscovered its ties with Central Asia and has recently started focusing on East and South-East Asia. In this sense, \u2018Asia Anew\u2019 and the Antalya Diplomacy Forum play a notable role in recoding Turkish Foreign Policy.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this regard, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> the \u2018Asia Anew\u2019 Initiative as \u201cTurkey\u2019s Enterprising and Humanitarian Foreign Policy vision\u201d in 2019. This year, Turkey is focusing on Asia systematically rather than with slogans. The Turkish government aims to seize development opportunities in Asia and not choose an <\/span>axis<\/span><\/a>. As part of its multidimensional foreign policy, Turkey aims to unite Asia and Europe, making\u00a0 Turkey itself the axis. Under the vision of \u2018Asia Anew\u2019, Turkey has started rebuilding and adjusting its ties with Asian countries. For instance, with Turkey’s strong support for China\u2019s \u2018Belt and Road Initiative, Turkey\u2019s \u2018Middle Corridor Initiative has found a common platform to develop.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Forum is a high-level gathering of professionals that <\/span>hosts<\/span><\/a> political leaders, diplomats, opinion makers, and academics. It aims to focus on global and regional issues and provide a platform for solutions.\u00a0 Diplomacy is the most significant communication tool in such a scenario. In this sense, Turkey with Antalya Diplomacy Forum strengthens its global role.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2nd Antalya Diplomacy Forum was held on various major topics this year. The forum was organized under the motto of \u201cRecoding Diplomacy\u201d, which refers to the assumption of the unexpected such as Covid-19 and economic and political crises. At the forum, one of the most important panels covered \u2018Cooperation and Competition in the Asia-Pacific\u2019. This year’s forum <\/span>hosted<\/span><\/a> 17 heads of state and government, 80 ministers, and 39 senior executives of international organizations; it hosted opinion leaders from 75 countries and representatives of approximately 40 percent of the world’s states. It also hosted almost 600 journalists from 27 countries. During the forum, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for reform in the international system and emphasized that global governance faces reiteration of conflicts, so world leaders need to take action to end these repeated problems.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this sense, Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2022 helps Turkey to deepen relations with the Asia – Pacific Region. The forum is a great opportunity to introduce \u2018Asia Anew\u2019 to more countries. Participation profiles show Turkey\u2019s focus on the region. Participation by the Prime Ministers and Ministers of Foreign Affairs of ASEAN\u2019s strong economies like Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam shows their strong support to the forum. Lastly, the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DE\u0130K) organized an “Asia Anew: For Sustainable Economic Growth” round table meeting that hosted ministers of foreign affairs and leaders of NGOs from across Asia and the Turkish business world. Participants discussed the Asian economy’s future and sustainable development and cooperation in Asia.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey\u2019s \u2018Asia Anew\u2019 Vision and Rising Asia\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey ranked 5th largest diplomatic network globally with <\/span>253<\/span><\/a> diplomatic and consular missions. Turkey follows \u201cstrong on the ground and at the table\u201d and \u201cEnterprising and Humanitarian\u201d principles in its foreign policy. Turkish Foreign Policy has been concentrating on Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and, East & South Asia in the last decade. <\/span>Among those regions, Asia is one of the focus regions under Turkey’s main scope.<\/span> Turkey has attached great importance to the region. Many of the aforementioned diplomatic missions have been established in recent years in Asia. For <\/span>instance<\/span><\/a>, since 2010, embassies have opened in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Cambodia, and Laos. Moreover, these countries have returned the compliment, with Cambodia <\/span>opening<\/span><\/a> its embassy in Turkey in 2022 for example. These developments will make Turkey more connected to the region as well as making the region more connected to Europe.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Asia-Pacific region is home to more than half of the world\u2019s population and covers one-third of global trade. The Asia-Pacific region is <\/span>expected<\/span><\/a> to contribute more than half of the global GDP by 2040 and more than half of global production by 2050. According to <\/span>data<\/span><\/a> released by economists from the World Bank (ADB), economies across developing Asia hit a growth rate of 7% in 2021 and are projected to grow by 5.3% in 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey aims to extend its cooperation and also solve trade deficit problems with Asian countries. \u2018Asia Anew\u2019 should bring deeper understanding and help the trade deficit issue that Turkey is facing. Therefore, these countries have mutually beneficial economic relations as well as win-win cooperation. Rising high value-added sectors from both sides open new beneficial cooperation areas, such as defense, finance, infrastructure, transportation, logistics, and energy.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example of Defense Sector<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Turkish Defense Sector in the region has been a rising star in recent years. Currently, the Turkish defense sector can now <\/span>meet<\/span><\/a> the majority of the needs of the Turkish Armed Forces with domestic products produced by the national intellectual capital. Turkish armed drones (UAV) have achieved significant results in the Nagorno Karabakh war, Syria, Libya, and recently in the Russian war in Ukraine. Turkey has established joint production relations with India and Pakistan. Pakistan and the Philippines have shown considerable interest in Turkish ATAK combat helicopters. Moreover, Turkish armored vehicles are being welcomed in Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia and Bangladesh. For instance, Indonesia and Turkey <\/span>strengthened<\/span><\/a> aerospace cooperation with a new deal in 2021. Furthermore, Bangladesh and Turkey <\/span>signed<\/span><\/a> a new security and counterterrorism deal in 2022. Besides that,<\/span> Turkey has <\/span>completed<\/span><\/a> the production of the first batch of KAPLAN MT Medium Class Tanks that were developed in partnership with Indonesia in 2022. Moreover, Turkey and Pakistan\u2019s governments have declared that the two countries <\/span>plan<\/span><\/a> to jointly produce their first fighter jet together. In short, These interactions will bring political consequences and long-term gains for both sides.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turkey is not having an \u2018Axis Shift\u2019, nor can it consider a single axis alliance. Turkey\u2019s main motivation is to pursue an active and multidimensional foreign policy. In the first and second Antalya Diplomacy Forums, Turkey has shown its future direction of foreign policy. Turkey is cherry-picking its limited diplomacy area in the current complicated global juncture. Turkey can use its growing and deepening ties with the Asia – Pacific region to set a positive agenda with the West. Turkey is a regional power, a fast-growing market with a dynamic business community. Turkey\u2019s geographical proximity makes the country a favorable option to invest in and cooperate with. Furthermore, Turkey\u2019s multidimensional and active foreign policy might create an expanded business network across Asia in various sectors.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahmet Faruk ISIK is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Comparative Politics and Area Studies at Shanghai International Studies University. He is a researcher at the Italy Torino World Affairs Institute and a research assistant at the Shanghai Academy of Global Governance and Area Studies (SAGGAS). ISIK is currently working at the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) as a coordinator for the Turkey\/Asia-Pacific Business Council in Istanbul.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two key Turkish Foreign Policy platforms played a joint role during \u00a0March 2021; \u2018Asia Anew\u2019 and Antalya Diplomacy Forum. The Antalya Diplomacy Forum was held on March 11-12-13. The first meeting between Ukraine and Russia after the war was also held at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. This key meeting was hosted by Turkey’s Foreign Minister … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":1637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"tipus_publicacio":[267],"class_list":["post-1636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tipus_publicacio-analysis","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-2"],"acf":{"document_pdf":null,"disclaimer":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cgi.erigin.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cgi.erigin.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cgi.erigin.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cgi.erigin.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cgi.erigin.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1636"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/cgi.erigin.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2933,"href":"https:\/\/cgi.erigin.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1636\/revisions\/2933"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cgi.erigin.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cgi.erigin.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cgi.erigin.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cgi.erigin.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1636"},{"taxonomy":"tipus_publicacio","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cgi.erigin.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tipus_publicacio?post=1636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}