Turkish FM at Antalya Diplomacy Forum: 'Diplomacy more relevant than ever'

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Saturday that the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) aims to create a platform focused on regional challenges, warning that weakening multilateralism and growing instability make diplomacy “more relevant than ever.”

"Diplomacy is much more relevant than ever, and much more needed than ever," said Fidan, speaking on day two of the Fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum in the southern Turkish city of Antalya, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu.

Fidan noted that global diplomacy platforms often prioritize Western-centric issues while conflicts in the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean get limited attention.

"But regional issues, especially those very much related to our region, have not been discussed in depth," Fidan said, adding that the Antalya Diplomacy Forum offers "a unique opportunity for our region to have regional discussions and to bring some regional solutions and ideas."

Fidan said diplomacy has become increasingly critical as the international system weakens.

"In an era where we see a lapse of multilateralism and international order, we need much more dialogue," he said, warning that the breakdown of global rules forces countries to rely more on coordination to avoid conflict.

He said the post-Cold War international system began to weaken after 2010, describing the current period as a "free fall" that requires countries to reassess global governance.

"If we wait for the usual system to run its course ... (and) we need to see a war or destruction ... then we start learning," Fidan said. "This time, hopefully, instead of learning by mistake, we can start learning by wisdom."

Fidan stressed regional ownership as a cornerstone of Türkiye's foreign policy, calling on countries in the Middle East, Caucasus, Balkans and Mediterranean to address their own challenges.

"When hegemons come to fix the problem, they create more problems than solutions," he said, adding that regional cooperation among mature nation-states could reduce conflicts.

"Now they have become, most of them, mature. So it is time for all of us to come together in a very mature way and to own our problems," he said.

News.Az 

By Aysel Mammadzada