On January 31, 2023, one of the key events of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT) took place in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Budapest and the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) with the title ’Regional Cooperation in Times of Crises’. It was the first time, when the highly prestigious Antalya Diplomacy Forum was (co-)organized outside of Turkey. This is a format what the organizers of the ADF intend to arrange regularly in the future. The event was held in the Matild Palace on January 31 with the guests of honour were Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, and Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary. In the first half of the conference, the foreign ministers shared their thoughts on the upcoming crises and the ways of cooperation. The discussion was moderated by Márton Schőberl, director of the IFAT. During the conversation, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu emphasized that the war in Ukraine is much closer for Turkey, and therefore it has more responsibility in its attitude in connection with the war. He highlighted that Turkey was the first country that entitled the conflict as a war, which was a very meaningful decision as a NATO member. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also emphasized the need for a calm and rational approach to the war situation, and elaborated his position that the Turkish president deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for making the Black Sea Grain Initiative possible. During the remaining part of the conversation, the ministers discussed about the importance of the Organization of Turkic States, the deepening of Turkish-Hungarian ties, and the importance of creating an investment friendly economic environment.
The main thoughts and ideas of the foreign ministers was discussed in the second half of the event in roundtable discussion carried out by the experts. Our invited guests were Mr. Murat Lütem, Ambassador and Director General for Foreign Policy, Coordination and Analysis of the Türkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Associate Prof. Ms. Şuay Nilhan Açıkalın,Vice Director of Graduate School, Department of International Relations of the Ankara Haci Bayram Veli University; Anton Bendarzsevszkij, Director of Research at the Oeconomus Economic Research Foundation; and Dr. Tamás Baranyi, Strategic Director of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The discussion was led by Georgina Juhász, Head of Department of the Central Bank of Hungary. During the discussion, the participants dealt mainly with the role of regional cooperation, with the solid focus on the Organization of Turkic States, the Visegrad Cooperation, advocacy within the European Union, and the question of what extent can the Turkish regional policy-making serve as a model for other countries as well. Furthermore, other crucial topics were highlighted such as the war in Ukraine, its impact on the regional politics, and Turkey’s position on the Ukrainian War.
Photos by: Institute of Foreign Affairs and Trade (IFAT)