Türkiye, alongside Spain, has become the strategic partner of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI), according to Turkish officials and the joint declaration shared on the occasion of the 10th summit of the initiative.
The Three Seas Initiative brings together the presidents of countries located between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black Seas to promote cooperation. The aim is to strengthen the European Union's cohesion by improving infrastructure, energy and economic collaboration between Central European and Eastern European countries.
Member states approved Türkiye's application for a strategic partnership at the 10th summit, held in Warsaw, Poland's capital, between April 28 and 29.
Applications for any status within the initiative can only be approved with the agreement of the participating members.
Türkiye previously attended the 9th Three Seas Summit, held in Vilnius on April 11, 2024, as a special guest, alongside the U.K., Finland, Montenegro, Spain and Israel.
The initiative has three levels of participation: participating members, which are limited to EU member states such as Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia; strategic partners, which include the European Commission, the U.S., Germany, Japan and now Türkiye and Spain and are expected to provide financial support; and associated members, a category created for countries like Ukraine and Moldova.
During the summit, Polish President Andrzej Duda also said the Three Seas Initiative economic partnership will be expanded to include Montenegro and Albania.
"Montenegro and Albania will officially join the Three Seas Initiative as associated participating states, while Türkiye and Spain will join us as strategic partners. This is great news," Duda said in a speech at the Belweder Palace in Warsaw at the opening of a business event as part of the 10th Three Seas Initiative Summit.
According to Duda, the Three Seas region is now home to 120 million people and shows a high dynamic of economic growth.
"Today, the Three Seas region is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, with a projected gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 35% by 2030. This cooperation is creating strategic transport routes such as Via Baltica, Rail Baltica or Via Carpatia – corridors linking Central Europe with the rest of the continent and a gateway for investment from the Middle East and Africa," Duda said.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, who joined other top officials for the summit in Warsaw, evaluated Türkiye's addition to the platform, calling it "valuable."
"The 'Three Seas Initiative' will positively impact the increase of our connectivity with the European Union and the development of our transport activities. The Via Carpatia Highway, which will be implemented within the scope of the project, will connect the trade routes in the Middle East to all of Europe via Türkiye," he said in a post on X on Tuesday.
Separately, speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), he highlighted Türkiye's strategic location, while also touching upon business opportunities for Turkish contractors.
"First of all, Türkiye is a transition point, there is the Middle Corridor in the East-West and the Development Road in the North-South," he said.
"Here, the Three Seas Initiative is a 10-year initiative initiated by countries starting from the Baltic and reaching the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea, and the 10th summit was held. We have also finalized a partnership application process that we initiated last year as of yesterday and Türkiye has now become a strategic partner of the Three Seas Initiative. This is valuable for us," he added.
Uraloğlu explained that the construction of a land route of approximately 800 kilometers (close to 500 miles) is on the agenda here; approximately a third of which has been built, another third is ongoing, and the rest is planned to be built.
Emphasizing that with the partnership, both the use of corridors will be ensured and Turkish contractors will have an opportunity to do business, the minister said: "The Three Seas Initiative, but when we connect it to the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf through Türkiye, it actually becomes a project and initiative that covers five seas in a sense. We will contribute to the process from now on, and we will ensure that our country benefits more from this project and partnership."
