Türkiye is an exceptional country that connects Europe, Asia and Africa, the world's oldest known three continents. Due to our geostrategic and geoeconomic position, it is not possible to carry out any project, any cooperation, any scenario and any analysis without Türkiye when the topics of global and regional security, energy, trade and logistics are on the agenda.
Hence, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has unquestionable influence among the world's leading politicians, is the leading, cherished and indispensable leader of every international summit, every meeting and every session, from east to west, from south to north, seeking global and regional cooperation. The most recent example of this is the Conference on Cooperation and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) held in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana.
As President Erdoğan clearly emphasized in his speech, “Wherever we are in the world, we all share the same fate as part of the great human family.” The coronavirus pandemic once again reminded us of this fact. Erdoğan's call clearly defines what the constructive approach should be for all global and regional organizations and cooperation platforms: "We must seek and find solutions together, just as our problems are common."
Türkiye's "African Expansion" and "Asia Re-Initiative" are the most important pillars and evidence of this fundamental approach. The indispensable weight of the two continents, which will make up 83% of the world's population in 2100, in the world economy and global trade, requires Türkiye to deepen its cooperation with both continents in the fields of economy, politics, diplomacy and security.
Moreover, while Türkiye's win-win approach is adopted as an inclusive approach with goodwill in both continents, the leading countries of Asia and Africa are taking steps to deepen their relations with Türkiye in many areas. Türkiye reminds all leading actors that any initiative aimed at having lasting stability, peace, fighting poverty and protecting the climate on a global and regional basis can only be realized with the strong participation of Asia and Africa. Although geographically further away from the Russia-Ukraine War, both Asian and African countries are deeply aware of the energy, food and supply chain crisis and the serious risks posed by the war in Europe.
The leading countries of both continents, being on the same page as Türkiye, see the "risk of drifting away from reason and wisdom," which is threatened by the current global picture, as an important threat to the future. Hence, as President Erdoğan strongly underlines, it is very important that collective hopes flourish.
However, the current period has increased the vulnerability for the abdication of reason, collective reason and collective hopes. The free order that prioritizes humanity is like a wounded ship that has waterlogged and struggled to move since the 2008 global financial crisis, with the COVID-19 pandemic, and then with the ongoing war in Ukraine.
As the trust in the collective reason weakens, we see that far-right tendencies, economic and trade-related protectionism, and the environment that feeds global terror centers come to the fore. Türkiye and in particular President Erdoğan are leaving their mark on the global and regional agenda as the leaders who put forward the strongest will and the strongest call against this toxic environment in order to eliminate this setting.
Türkiye’s constructive and inclusive approach and humanitarian and entrepreneurial diplomacy skills will carry us to a gross domestic product (GDP) exceeding $1 trillion and an export volume of $400 billion in the next five years. Let's be aware of the meaning of this.
