Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Doğan Narin, the chairman of the Turkish-Arab Countries Businessmen’s Association (TURAB), recalled that Turkey’s developing commercial ties with Arab countries are perceived as “an axis shift and a divergence from the European Union.” However, Narin strongly rejected this perception, noting that negotiations between Turkey and the EU are ongoing. “However, as these talks continue, we cannot be indifferent to developments in the world. Turkey will continue to integrate with the world and improve its dialogue with all countries,” said Narin.
The long-debated claim that Turkey is changing its axis and leaning towards the East has been revived with Turkey’s negative vote on imposing new sanctions on Iran at the UN Security Council last week.
Turkey’s recent work to have more power in its region and among neighboring countries is exactly the same strategy used by European countries in the past, he remarked. “These efforts cannot be interpreted as a shift in Turkey’s axis, but as an expansion of its targets.” As a country situated between Europe, Asia and the Middle East, Turkey cannot neglect its relations with Arab countries, Narin noted, calling recent discussions on an “axis shift” entirely political.
“Turkey is facing both the West and the Middle East,” Süleyman Onatça, chairman of the Federation of East Mediterranean Industrialists and Businessmen’s Associations (DASİFED), said. According to him it wouldn’t be right for Turkey as a developing country not have the opportunity of selecting its customers. “We have to sell our products to all countries. As businessmen we don’t only lean towards Middle Eastern and European markets, but those around the world,” Onatça said.
Mehmet Ali Kuseyri, board member of the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), noted that Turkey’s old ties with Arab countries had recently turned into an economic advantage especially in the tourism sector. He predicted that this cooperation would yield more positive results in the near future.
