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ECO ISTANBUL SUMMIT SHOWCASES TURKEY'S GROWING OUTREACH TO A DIVERSE REGION
Today's Zaman
Dec 24 2010
Turkey
Photo: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (L), Afghan President
Hamid Karzai (2nd L), President Abdullah Gul and Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev (R) wait for other leaders for a group photo at the ECO
summit in İstanbul on Thursday.
Turkey called for intensified contacts among countries in Eurasia as
it hosted a summit of 10 nations on Thursday, saying it will bring
prosperity and stability to the diverse region.
In addition to illustrating Turkey's growing influence, the economic
summit -- gathering leaders from Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and
Central Asian states together in İstanbul -- also offered an
opportunity for Turkey to seek more support for its bid for the
creation of a new and modernized Silk Road. Ankara believes that
historical, economic and political relations, which were maintained
within the region historically thanks to the Silk Road, can be
revitalized via today's railroads, highways and air links.
"Turkey, which is located exactly at the center of the Eurasian
continent, attaches much importance to the maintenance of peace,
security, stability and welfare all across this geography. Towards
this direction, we are trying to constitute regional dialogue and
cooperation mechanisms and implement comprehensive regional economic
cooperation projects in fields such as energy, communication and
transportation," Turkish President Abdullah Gul told the visiting
leaders on Thursday, while delivering a speech at the opening of the
11th heads of state and government summit of the 10-member Economic
Cooperation Organization (ECO).
ECO was established by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey in 1985 as an
intergovernmental regional organization aiming at promoting economic,
technical and cultural cooperation among the member states. In 1992,
it was expanded to include seven new members, namely Afghanistan,
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan.
"I believe that supporting economic cooperation and development in
our region requires an institutionalized dialogue. Additionally,
I have the conviction that the way towards an effective and just
world system passes through dialogue and cooperation which will be
carried out in the regional field," Gul said, while underlining the
vast natural sources of the participant countries.
Plagued by conflict but blessed with vast oil and gas reserves, the
Eurasian region has seen its geopolitical significance increase. Gul
said he hoped that the İstanbul Declaration to be issued at the end
of the summit would bring a new dynamism to the organization.
Nevertheless, the summit has been expected to produce few concrete
results. Still, its significance lies in the attendance of the region's
high-profile political leaders.
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai and Foreign Minister Zalmai
Rassoul; Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov; Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Foreign
Minister Ali Akbar Salehi; Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Karim Massimov;
Kyrgyzstan's President Roza Otunbayeva; Pakistan's President Asif Ali
Zardari and Foreign Minister Mahmood Qureshi; Tajikistan's President
Emomali Rahmon and Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi were attendees
from the member states.
While the other two member states, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, were
represented by low-ranking officials, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani,
Syrian Minister of Economy and Trade Lamia Assi and Aytug Plumer,
undersecretary from the Foreign Ministry of the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (KKTC), and officials from Qatar, Jordan and Lebanon
also attended the summit as guests.
Earlier, in a preparatory meeting of foreign ministers, Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey's "Eurasian vision"
was one of close regional ties and cooperation. "Our objective is
to strengthen the links between Europe and Asia through energy and
transportation corridors and by creating new dynamics for cooperation,"
Davutoglu said.
Turkey, a rising Muslim democracy that has applied to join the European
Union, has cultivated its relationship with its eastern neighbors to
consolidate its position as a link between Europe on the one hand and
the Middle East and Central Asia on the other. The summit has served as
a showcase of Turkey's growing diplomatic assertiveness and a foreign
policy it defines as being based on "zero problems with neighbors."
In the past decade, Turkey has transformed itself from a financial
basket case on the periphery of Europe into one of the world's
best-performing economies and now stakes a claim to a regional
leadership role.
Henri Barkey, a Turkey expert from the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace in Washington, said Turkey saw itself as a global
player and was using the ECO summits to demonstrate its influence.
"Most of these countries in ECO are mired in domestic problems and
Turkey's interests are far more global. Turkey does not need ECO,
but Turkey does not loose an opportunity to show it's central to
world politics," Barkey told Reuters news agency.
Ankara, Baku, Tehran seek closer ties
A regional trilateral meeting was held on Thursday between Azerbaijan,
Iran and Turkey on the sidelines of the ECO summit, with the three
countries pledging closer cooperation in efforts to resolve regional
conflicts and combat terrorism and organized crime.
A joint statement released after the three countries' foreign
ministers' meeting underlined the need "to achieve peaceful resolution
of the unresolved conflicts in the region, based on the principle of
territorial integrity."
A major territorial dispute in the region is Azerbaijan's conflict with
Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave that Armenian separatists,
backed by Yerevan, seized from Baku in a war following the collapse of
the Soviet Union. "The ministers have agreed to hold regular trilateral
meetings," the statement said, adding that the next meeting would be
in Iran.
Turkey is a traditional ally of Azerbaijan. Recently it has developed
close ties also with Iran, making active efforts to resolve tensions
over Tehran's nuclear program.
Ankara has no diplomatic relations with Yerevan, whose position that
Armenians were the victim of genocide during the Ottoman Empire have
long made for tense relations between the two countries.
From: A. Papazian
Today's Zaman
Dec 24 2010
Turkey
Photo: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (L), Afghan President
Hamid Karzai (2nd L), President Abdullah Gul and Azerbaijani President
Ilham Aliyev (R) wait for other leaders for a group photo at the ECO
summit in İstanbul on Thursday.
Turkey called for intensified contacts among countries in Eurasia as
it hosted a summit of 10 nations on Thursday, saying it will bring
prosperity and stability to the diverse region.
In addition to illustrating Turkey's growing influence, the economic
summit -- gathering leaders from Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and
Central Asian states together in İstanbul -- also offered an
opportunity for Turkey to seek more support for its bid for the
creation of a new and modernized Silk Road. Ankara believes that
historical, economic and political relations, which were maintained
within the region historically thanks to the Silk Road, can be
revitalized via today's railroads, highways and air links.
"Turkey, which is located exactly at the center of the Eurasian
continent, attaches much importance to the maintenance of peace,
security, stability and welfare all across this geography. Towards
this direction, we are trying to constitute regional dialogue and
cooperation mechanisms and implement comprehensive regional economic
cooperation projects in fields such as energy, communication and
transportation," Turkish President Abdullah Gul told the visiting
leaders on Thursday, while delivering a speech at the opening of the
11th heads of state and government summit of the 10-member Economic
Cooperation Organization (ECO).
ECO was established by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey in 1985 as an
intergovernmental regional organization aiming at promoting economic,
technical and cultural cooperation among the member states. In 1992,
it was expanded to include seven new members, namely Afghanistan,
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan.
"I believe that supporting economic cooperation and development in
our region requires an institutionalized dialogue. Additionally,
I have the conviction that the way towards an effective and just
world system passes through dialogue and cooperation which will be
carried out in the regional field," Gul said, while underlining the
vast natural sources of the participant countries.
Plagued by conflict but blessed with vast oil and gas reserves, the
Eurasian region has seen its geopolitical significance increase. Gul
said he hoped that the İstanbul Declaration to be issued at the end
of the summit would bring a new dynamism to the organization.
Nevertheless, the summit has been expected to produce few concrete
results. Still, its significance lies in the attendance of the region's
high-profile political leaders.
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai and Foreign Minister Zalmai
Rassoul; Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister
Elmar Mammadyarov; Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Foreign
Minister Ali Akbar Salehi; Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Karim Massimov;
Kyrgyzstan's President Roza Otunbayeva; Pakistan's President Asif Ali
Zardari and Foreign Minister Mahmood Qureshi; Tajikistan's President
Emomali Rahmon and Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi were attendees
from the member states.
While the other two member states, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, were
represented by low-ranking officials, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani,
Syrian Minister of Economy and Trade Lamia Assi and Aytug Plumer,
undersecretary from the Foreign Ministry of the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus (KKTC), and officials from Qatar, Jordan and Lebanon
also attended the summit as guests.
Earlier, in a preparatory meeting of foreign ministers, Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey's "Eurasian vision"
was one of close regional ties and cooperation. "Our objective is
to strengthen the links between Europe and Asia through energy and
transportation corridors and by creating new dynamics for cooperation,"
Davutoglu said.
Turkey, a rising Muslim democracy that has applied to join the European
Union, has cultivated its relationship with its eastern neighbors to
consolidate its position as a link between Europe on the one hand and
the Middle East and Central Asia on the other. The summit has served as
a showcase of Turkey's growing diplomatic assertiveness and a foreign
policy it defines as being based on "zero problems with neighbors."
In the past decade, Turkey has transformed itself from a financial
basket case on the periphery of Europe into one of the world's
best-performing economies and now stakes a claim to a regional
leadership role.
Henri Barkey, a Turkey expert from the Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace in Washington, said Turkey saw itself as a global
player and was using the ECO summits to demonstrate its influence.
"Most of these countries in ECO are mired in domestic problems and
Turkey's interests are far more global. Turkey does not need ECO,
but Turkey does not loose an opportunity to show it's central to
world politics," Barkey told Reuters news agency.
Ankara, Baku, Tehran seek closer ties
A regional trilateral meeting was held on Thursday between Azerbaijan,
Iran and Turkey on the sidelines of the ECO summit, with the three
countries pledging closer cooperation in efforts to resolve regional
conflicts and combat terrorism and organized crime.
A joint statement released after the three countries' foreign
ministers' meeting underlined the need "to achieve peaceful resolution
of the unresolved conflicts in the region, based on the principle of
territorial integrity."
A major territorial dispute in the region is Azerbaijan's conflict with
Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave that Armenian separatists,
backed by Yerevan, seized from Baku in a war following the collapse of
the Soviet Union. "The ministers have agreed to hold regular trilateral
meetings," the statement said, adding that the next meeting would be
in Iran.
Turkey is a traditional ally of Azerbaijan. Recently it has developed
close ties also with Iran, making active efforts to resolve tensions
over Tehran's nuclear program.
Ankara has no diplomatic relations with Yerevan, whose position that
Armenians were the victim of genocide during the Ottoman Empire have
long made for tense relations between the two countries.
From: A. Papazian