Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Croatia on April 28 to attend the 11th summit of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) in Dubrovnik, representing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to Foreign Ministry sources.
The April 28-29 gathering marks the first time Türkiye will participate in the initiative as a “strategic partner,” a status it secured at the 2025 Warsaw summit. The meeting, hosted by Croatia, brings together Central and Eastern European countries seeking to strengthen transport, energy and digital infrastructure across the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Sea regions.
Fidan is expected to highlight the growing importance of connectivity, describing it as a multidimensional ecosystem encompassing not only physical infrastructure but also energy networks, digital systems, finance and governance. He is also expected to underline how geopolitical tensions and ongoing conflicts have exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains and energy security, calling for diversification of routes and resources.
According to the sources, Fidan will stress that Türkiye views the initiative as an inclusive platform that enhances regional ownership, and that it is ready to deepen cooperation as a strategic partner, leveraging its geostrategic position. He is also expected to emphasize the need for a renewed narrative in Türkiye-European Union relations that could deliver tangible progress, with connectivity serving as a constructive area of engagement.
The Turkish minister is likely to reference projects such as the Middle Corridor and the Development Road, presenting them as complementary routes that support global trade rather than competing alternatives.
The Middle Corridor connects China and European countries via Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye, reducing delivery times between Europe and Asia to 15 days. Türkiye's central role in the trade route makes the country the very backbone of trade, directly connecting 21 countries.
The corridor is increasingly emerging as one of the potentially critical links between Asia and Europe amid recent conflicts.
The Development Road project, on the other hand, is a land and rail transport deal spearheaded by Iraq, Türkiye, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The project promises to facilitate trade volumes from Iraq's Grand Faw Port directly through Türkiye and into Europe.
The initiative includes Austria, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Greece as participating members. Alongside Türkiye, the European Commission, the United States, Germany, Japan and Spain hold strategic partner status. Ukraine, Moldova, Albania and Montenegro take part as associated participating countries.
Only EU member states can join the Three Seas Initiative as participating members, while Türkiye’s inclusion as a strategic partner was unanimously approved at the 2025 Warsaw summit.
At this year’s summit in Dubrovnik, Italy is expected to be admitted to the initiative as a strategic partner.
The crisis that has erupted amid the Middle East conflict could ultimately create opportunities for Türkiye and make it a regional energy hub through new partnerships and supply routes, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said last week.
Energy prices have spiralled following U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, which triggered a near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world's oil normally flows. Stalled shipments through the waterway have sent prices skyrocketing far beyond the region and raised the cost of food and a wide array of other products.
After the U.S. and Israel began attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, Iran responded by effectively blocking the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to attack any vessels that did not obtain its permission to transit the waterway.
The blockade caused major disruptions to global trade, sending energy prices soaring and sparking fears of fuel shortages.
