talking tact
Turkey:
The Path of Return By Ahmed Lotfy
o
His Excellency Emre Yuntthe, the Turkish Ambassador to Qatar
nce again, Turkey is the cynosure in the Arab world following the aggression on its Gaza-bound flotilla by impenitent Israel – reviving Arab hopes that a ‘hero maybe restored’. In four years, an eager Arab street has curiously observed Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a hero in the eyes of many Palestinians and Arabs, draw the line against Israel. Openly censuring the war on Lebanon in 2006 and on Gaza in 2008, Turkey has taken a serious stand against the siege on 1.5 million Gazans since its inception. This is how dreams would look, but what about the reality? Harsh as usual. Turkey has long been Israel's closest friend in the Muslim world. In 2009, they had roughly $2.5 billion in trade and $1.07 billion in military cooperation in 2008. But the relations between these two allies have come under an increasing strain over the years, dipping to a nadir in the flotilla aggression. But how far can Turkey strain ties with Israel and consequently the US? And when we know that a damaged relationship means less business, is the Arab-Turkish rapprochement enough as an offset? Qatar Today raised these questions to His Excellency Emre Yuntthe, the Turkish Ambassador to Qatar. AUGUST 10
Qatar Today
35
talking tact
“The Palestinian problem is not solely a Turkish problem – it is a humanitarian issue. We are going together with the world and the UN in solving it, not on our own.”
Turkey's increasing interest in the Arab region – some define it as a shift of attention from the West who laid hurdles in your way to the EU membership; to an increasingly important region once annexed to the Ottoman ancestors. How do you define that shift? Recently, it has been widely argued that Turkey had a shift of attention from the West to the East. This is not true. Let me put it this way. Our foreign policy has been more active, more developed in the range of international relations. This doesn't mean we're no longer interested in our relations with the West. We are changing in terms of enlarging the focus of attention, and not shifting the focus somewhere else. We're opening new embassies in Africa and Latin America, launching more Consulates in China, India and the US. This activity overlies a government policy that regards international relations as one of the economy's mainstays.
cisions of some countries such as France, and relations with some neighbouring countries that have nothing to do with the EU system. Turkey is still making a huge effort. We're developing our internal system that will be adapted in the EU. We have an ad-hoc organisation called the ‘European Union Secretariat General.’ They are enhancing the administrative capacity in the country. So we are optimistic about the future. Even if we become an EU member, we cannot turn our back to our Arab brothers. Our accession will be to the benefit of the EU itself. In part, Turkey can serve as a bridge between the EU and the Arab world. Of course, we have to accept that enthusiasm and public support have dropped, because of the hurdles thrown our way. But when such hurdles go away, things will be back to normal.
We feel responsible for helping our brothers in Palestine. Our active foreign policy takes interest in lending support to Palestinians.
Not at all. These things happen. These are mere fluctuations as in any cycle. They don't diminish the importance of the EU, nor do they shake the long-term confidence in the global economy. We're optimistic about the future
ering within the territory of $100 million and a billion. Last year, it dropped to $400 million, but improved a little this year. The key sector of Turkish involvement in Qatar is construction and constructionmaterial exports. Over 25 construction companies currently undertake projects here. We are negotiating with Qatar to import LNG (liquefied natural gas). Currently private sectors are already buying Qatari
How do you perceive your relations with the GCC? The current volume of trade exchange between Turkey and the GCC is not enough. We are still concluding the free trade agreement with the GCC countries. It is taking time because we have a customs union with the EU, so negotiations with the GCC must be compatible with that. Also, some Gulf countries want to include the service sector in our trade agreements – which is new to us. In Turkey, some of the service sectors are not open to foreign investments, like banking, insurance, and telecoms. So the government is studying such requests and we expect action soon.
Any timeframe? Do you think the recent finan- One or two years, maybe. cial crisis and the ensuing debt woes dimmed the brilliance of What about your trade relaIs the EU membership dream any association with Europe or tions with Qatar? dead, or are you still behind it? the US? In total, the trade volume has been hovThe first time we applied for the EU membership was in 1959. Negotiations have been based on a document called the ‘Negotiation Framework Document’ that contains 25 chapters that have to be negotiated separately. So far, we've been doing our homework. We haven't completed the entire thing due to political impediments placed in our way by the Europeans. Almost half of the chapters are frozen because of issues like Cyprus, unilateral de36
Qatar Today AUGUST 10
On the Palestinian front, Turkey seems to have reinvented itself, but the question is how far can you go?
talking tact
gas, but the government is interested as well. We are open to building a pipeline going through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Turkey, which can be connected to the ones transiting through Turkey, like Nabucco. If implemented, this pipeline will boost the transition of Qatari gas to Europe.
With Turkey's rejuvenated diplomacy is looking into areas that have so far been handled by other regional heavy weights like Egypt, Saudi and Iran. How do you avoid any negative sentiment or feeling of competition? There is no reason for looking at things from that point of view. We are all trying to make a contribution in the resolution of the region's problems.
Erdogan promised action on Gaza after the flotilla. In your view, how far can you go? Well, we are making decisions along with the UN and other global powers. We are not doing it on our own. This is not solely a Turkish problem. It is a humanitarian issue. In the flotilla aggression, we have a special problem with Israel because of the loss of lives. There must be some consequences for Israel's reaction. But this
is a separate track. In terms of lifting the embargo on Gaza, we are going to continue to try to lift the embargo. This does not necessarily mean that the others can do nothing. We have to do it as a world community.
“In the flotilla aggression, we have a special problem with Israel because of the loss of lives, and there must be some consequences.” Now pro-Turkey emotions on the Arab street are strong, and so are the expectations from your country. Your comment? As our Prime Minister said, we are not doing this to assume the role of a hero. We feel these people (in Palestine) are suffering. We will do our best – diplomacy of course – to solve this issue. We know we are not alone in this. Qatar, for example, is working on that as well.
An Algerian newspaper had ‘quoted’ Prime Minister Erdugan saying ‘I will bomb Israel,
shall any harm happen to the Gaza-bound flotilla.’ How do you comment on that?
This is a mere speculation with no basis.
You are investing heavily in education, academic research and innovations. What's your vision and what's the progress to date?
The current government attaches great importance to education. In many villages, you will find computers in elementary classrooms. Schools are having internet facilities. We have established techno-parks in many universities too. Education is the way of superiority, so we are investing a lot in it. We are taking part in the EU programmes and initiatives to develop academic research, such as the Seventh Framework Programme. Countries contributing to these programmes submit projects that, if accepted, would be funded and implemented. Turkey's success to date shows how fast the country is going. Now, we are investing 2% of GDP on education and research, but aiming at 3%.
In a decade from now, where do you anticipate Turkey to be?
We are aiming at becoming the world's tenth economy. This is possible in less than ten years n AUGUST 10
Qatar Today
37