Left to right: Foreign ministers Hoshiyar Zebari of Iraq and Walid al-Moualem of Syria met with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa in İstanbul's Ottoman-era Çırağan Palace last week.

The Turkish government has sealed two contracts in the past year with Syria and Iraq to establish a greater economic zone similar to that of the European Union to tackle political and ethnic conflicts through economic development.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has had talks with respect to the EU, Armenia, the South Caucasus, the Middle East, Iran and the Balkans in the past 12 days. Developments in these regions directly concern Turkey, and Davutoğlu's sustained efforts both in Iraq and Syria have opened a new phase as Turkey will likely spearhead economic and political developments in the Middle East. Some say involvement in Middle Eastern affairs symbolizes Turkey's slow drift away from the West, but these policies in no way undermine the feasi-bility of Turkey's EU membership bid.

Speaking on CNN Turk on Friday, Foreign Minister Davutoğlu said during the EU foreign ministers' meeting in Sweden last week the agenda was the Black Sea, Mediterranean cooperation, the South Caucasus and the Balkans, and in all of these regions Turkey is indispensable. Davutoğlu also added that Turkey's EU negotiations should not concern only technical issues but that Turkey also has to have a strategic vision.

Western observers have often attributed Turkey's foreign policy success to Foreign Minister Davutoğlu's mastery of foreign policy. Thanks to Davutoğlu's tireless efforts, numerous problems blocking Turkey's expanding foreign policy have been resolved effectively. The foreign minister's repeated visits to the region have brought about major transformations. Not even 10 years ago, Turkey and Syria were on the verge of war as Syria allegedly hosted Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists within its territory. More open dialogue in the Middle East has started since the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) appointed Davutoğlu as chief advisor to the prime minister on foreign affairs in 2003.

On Thursday Turkey hosted several Iraqi ministers as part of a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Agreement signed in July 2008 with Iraq. Before the meeting, Davutoğlu said Turkey wanted to transform the Middle East into an economic zone free of problems and crises. Speaking to Sunday's Zaman, Hüsnü Mahalli, Middle East expert and a writer at the Yeni Şafak daily, said Turkey has proved that its sole goal is to establish peace and stability in the region. “Then Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül had a tour in the Middle East to stop the outbreak of the Iraq war. However, due to the existing conditions in the region, he failed to address the problems of the Middle East and the wrong policies of Middle Eastern countries,” Mahalli said.

Having a strong belief that Turkey sincerely seeks peace in the region, Mahalli said: “Turkey has no aim to pursue its national interest while doing all these activities. Turkey stands equal to every country and wants them to live in peace.”

Turkey also has a similar framework with Gulf countries. Following the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Iraq in 2008, Turkey was swift at signing a similar agreement with Gulf countries. However, Davutoğlu's recent initiative was only limited to Iran, Iraq and Syria. “Iran, Turkey, Iraq and Syria are the four major countries in the region,” said Mahalli. “A similar agreement, I am sure, will also be signed with Iran, and naturally this will expand to other countries, too. Why should the Middle East not have a union like the European Union?” Mahalli asked. He specified that a similar structure is also possible in this region. 

Middle East Strategic Research Center expert Serhat Erkmen said Turkey's normalization of relations with the Middle East has topped the agenda for five years, and relations with neighbors have gotten better in recent years. Turkey failed to build relations with its neighbors due to several problems including terrorism. Syria was allegedly hosting PKK terrorists and Iraq was slow to eradicate its PKK camps in northern Iraq. This facts worsened relations with Turkey. “Turkey has evaluated the terms and conditions in the region and has taken the first step. The most critical step was a decision to have better relations with Iraq,” Erkmen noted.

Speculating about the economic dimension of the relations, Erkmen said: “If Turkey transforms its relations with Iraq into a healthy economy, this may spill over to other countries, too. Both Iraq and Syria feel the necessity to get foreign direct investment (FDI). Turkey, in this sense, may supervise their economic development.”

The “Middle East Union” still remains a blur and a dark picture for many. This region has recently experienced full-fledged wars, failures of economic models and terrorist attacks. Countries in the region also have also many problems among each other. “Turkey has taken very important and serious steps; however, there are potential problems in the region. These include instability in Iraq, problems between Iraq and Syria, water crises and other problems,” Erkmen stated.

To establish such an economic zone for the welfare of regional countries, this model should also include other countries. “If these problems remain unresolved, its expansion seems difficult for now. Iran-Arab tension needs not to rise. Iran is a very important country for Turkey, and Turkey in no way should ignore its significance,” Erkmen concluded.

Today's Zaman