FM Çavuşoğlu says Turkey to continue having ‘key role’ in Europe, Asia

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Dec. 26 said that Turkey will continue its key role in both Europe and Asia as a NATO member.

Speaking at a symposium on the “Asia Anew” initiative, Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey has one of the largest diplomatic networks in the world as it has 32 embassies in Asia, excluding the Middle East.

The country has embassies in 10 member countries of the Association of the South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), he said.

“We have very special relations with Central Asian countries. Nevertheless, it is not possible to proceed without knowing Asia well or making ourselves known well in Asia,” Çavuşoğlu said.

The minister also underlined that Ankara will continue to take part in the European integration process.

“We will protect our key position in NATO, the world’s most powerful alliance. Meanwhile, we will continue to assume our key role as the Asian in the far west and European in the far east,” he said.

Çavuşoğlu also said that Asia is rising again, as it has become “the center of economic weight,” and regarding this Turkey should consider its position as an Asian country.

“We should reconsider Asia, from the perspective of our initiative and humanitarian foreign policy. That’s why we named our initiative ‘Asia Anew’,” he said.

The minister also conveyed that Asia too has its crisis and conflicts, “like any other place in the world,” and Ankara will continue to contribute a reconciliatory approach to the problems.

“Domestic disputes, ethnic and religious conflicts, migration crisis and deep-rooted bilateral issues are present,” he said.

“As Turkey, we will continue to provide our constructive contributions, with respect to our experience and sensitivity on mediation and humanitarian issues, to overcome these issues,” he added.

Çavuşoğlu also stressed the importance of a multilateral diplomatic approach in the “Asia Anew” initiative. He conveyed that Turkey will give a fillip to the Asia Cooperation Dialogue and the Economic Cooperation Organization.