Turkish Foreign Policy

Having celebrated the quincentenary of the Foreign Ministry, Türkiye benefits from its deep-rooted tradition of diplomacy and derives strength from several factors including its central geographical position, rich historical experience, robust institutions, strong human resources, and dynamic economy. As such, Türkiye’s foreign policy is the embodiment of a bridge between tradition and the future.

Turkish Foreign Policy aims to protect Türkiye’s interests in a volatile regional and global environment, while also shaping conditions for sustainable peace and development in our neighborhood and beyond. In the pursuit of this primary goal, Türkiye contributes to peace, prosperity and stability around the world. In the “Century of Türkiye”, which has begun with the centenary of the Republic of Türkiye, our national foreign policy aims to strengthen regional peace and security , expand the institutional basis of our foreign relations, promote economic development and prosperity in our region and influence the transformation of the global system. Guided by our enduring objective to achieve “Peace at Home, Peace in the World” as set out by the founder of our Republic Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and within the framework of our President’s vision of the “Century of Türkiye”, we conduct an independent and national foreign policy.

Turkish Foreign Policy, which constitutes a part and parcel of our national security system, prioritizes strengthening regional peace and security through combating terrorism and extremism, conflict prevention, peaceful resolution and mediation, and regional ownership.

Terrorism and extremist tendencies have reached a dangerous intensity with regional and global dimensions. Terrorist groups threaten international peace and security. Terrorism is a crime against humanity that cannot be associated with any race, ethnicity, faith, or geography. It is a global scourge demanding global response and solidarity. Türkiye has been actively countering terrorism unleashed by whichever organization under whatever pretext.

In a geography of active, frozen and potential conflicts, facing the reality of economic destruction and mass migration movements in addition to huge humanitarian losses, Türkiye considers the peaceful resolution of conflicts as a priority goal in terms of ensuring regional peace and security. Calling for fair burden and responsibility sharing since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, Türkiye hosts approximately 3.2 million Syrians under temporary protection and supports the dignified, safe and voluntary return of Syrians to the stabilized areas. In this context, Türkiye has spent more than 40 billion USD since 2011.

Türkiye has a leading role in conflict prevention, peaceful resolution of conflicts and mediation and is the only country to simultaneously co-chair the Friends of Mediation Groups at the UN, OSCE and the OIC. In addition to its efforts on the ground, Türkiye also hosts the annual İstanbul Mediation Conferences, prioritizes capacity-building, and organizes the “Mediation for Peace Certificate Programs” for young diplomats from the OIC Member States.

Türkiye supports regional ownership and solutions for regional problems. Türkiye is a founding member of several regional organizations and initiatives such as the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC), the Southeast European Cooperation Process, and the Economic Cooperation Organization.

In order to expand the institutional basis of its foreign relations, Türkiye strives to deepen its existing relations, while developing them through new cooperation mechanisms and opening policies. As the Easternmost European, and the Westernmost Asian country, Türkiye aims to strengthen its strategic relations and establish new ones. Türkiye has a strategic partnership with the United States as a NATO ally and considers the transatlantic link vital for security and prosperity in Europe. As an active member, Türkiye contributes fundamentally to the principle of “the indivisibility of security” within NATO. As such, Türkiye is among the top 5 contributors to NATO operations and top 8 contributors to the Alliance’s budget.

Türkiye is a part of Europe and a founding member of almost all European institutions including the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, among others. Full membership of the European Union remains as a strategic priority.

The Organization of Turkic States, which embraces the civilizational roots of the Turkic World, is a successful example of our steps to expand the institutional basis of our foreign relations.This visionary breakthrough, which has created excitement in the Turkic world, will be carried to further integration stages.

Türkiye has developed a globally extensive network of cooperation including High Level Cooperation Councils with 30 countries, 4 Intergovernmental Summits, and a host of trilateral or other multilateral regional formations. Türkiye continues to further strengthen its close ties with the countries in the Balkans, the Middle East and North Africa, Southern Caucasus, South, and Central Asia. Beyond these neighboring regions, Türkiye also deepens its partnership policy in Africa, and reaches out to the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean more and moreevery day. The Asia Anew initiative announced in 2019 has given Türkiye the opportunity to lay the foundations of a holistic and comprehensive policy towards Asia and the Pacific, home to the rising powers of the 21st century.

As a result of its deepening and widening comprehensive policies, Türkiye has spawned the 5th largest diplomatic network globally with 261 missions. It uses several complementary political, economic, humanitarian, and cultural tools and conducts a diplomacy that thinks globally but acts locally in every corner of the world.

In line with the objective of promoting economic development and prosperityin the region, Türkiye aims to strengthen regional connectivity. In this framework, it actively supports the development of transport corridors in various directions. As an energy hub and transit country, Türkiye plays a vital role in European and global energy security.

Making the global system fairer and more inclusive is one of the priorities of Turkish Foreign Policy. Solution to global challenges requires collective efforts forged by cooperation and effective multilateralism . This reality guides Türkiye’s active diplomacy within multilateral fora. As a prominent member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Developing Eight (D-8), the Organization of Turkic States, Asia Cooperation Dialogue and MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Türkiye, and Australia), Türkiye has brought additional efficiency and dynamism to all institutions during its Term Presidencies.

Türkiye has been an active member of the G20 since its inception. Within the G20, Türkiye has been promoting the humanitarian-development nexus, as well as inclusive economic growth and equitable distribution. Under the motto of “The World is Bigger than Five” coined by His Excellency President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Türkiye has been advocating the reform of the UN Security Council and the UN, as well as other multilateral organizations, in order for them to be fit for purpose today.

Türkiye is positioned in the international society as a compassionate power. Türkiye’s human-centered state tradition is reflected on its development and humanitarian aid programs. The first-ever World Humanitarian Summit was held in Istanbul in 2016. Türkiye is the largest humanitarian donor in the world, and the most generous country on the basis of per capita humanitarian spending.

Humanity is plagued by various scourges, including terrorism, ethnic or religious hatred, discrimination, extremism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, while other forms of exclusion are also causes for concern. In addressing such widespread menaces, Türkiye stresses the need for transparency, diversity, dialogue, and inclusive policies. With this mindset, Türkiye has assumed a leading role in endeavors to foster mutual respect and common values among different cultures and religions. The UN Alliance of Civilizations initiative, co-sponsored by Türkiye and Spain has represented a solid response to the scenarios based on the so-called clash of civilizations.

We continue our efforts to increase the quality of the services provided to our citizens living abroad. We encourage their active participation in the political, economic, and social life of the countries they live in, while maintaining their ties with their homeland and culture.

Ensuring the efficiency of foreign policy requires keeping abreast of change and diversifying policy instruments accordingly. By designing innovative initiatives, Türkiye is shaping the diplomacy of today as well as the future. The Digital Diplomacy initiative aims to capitalize on the transformative power of technology in all avenues of foreign policy and increase efficiency and effectiveness from consular services to public diplomacy, and from digital infrastructure to strategic foresight and analysis.

Similarly, the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) was designed as an innovative platform to exchange views on global and regional issues and provide solutions to key foreign policy issues. In such a short time span, the ADF has become a well-known platform for global diplomacy. Following the first Forum in 18-20 June 2021, the second ADF was held in Antalya on 11-13 March 2022 under the theme of “Recoding Diplomacy”, with broad participation.

A strong Türkiye means a guarantee for sustainable peace and development and a driving force for all surrounding basins. Achievement of the solid goals set out under the leadership of our President will not only raise the standards of peace and prosperity at home, but will also reinforce Türkiye’s contributions to its own neighborhood and beyond. Our national foreign policy will continue to secure national interests, while simultaneously contributing to the shared goals of humanity in the “Century of Türkiye”.