Hakan Fidan underlined that without Türkiye, the EU cannot become a true actor

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke at the 14th Ambassadors Conference:

"We will tirelessly strive to be an actor that can both play the game when needed and disrupt it when necessary."

We will make unyielding efforts for our country to be an entirely independent, game-changing and game-disrupting actor. The execution of our foreign policy is abundantly clear, rooted in the values of our civilization and based on our national capabilities and opportunities, independent of any external influence—a national foreign policy. In other words, Türkiye Century's foreign policy. We will work tirelessly with our ambassadors to bring this vision to life. The Ambassadors Conference offers an opportunity to address our national foreign policy in the Türkiye Century. We will address the upcoming risks and opportunities, offering solution-oriented suggestions. We will have the opportunity to engage with institutions and leaders in areas such as economy, security, and energy within our foreign relations. Within the framework of the Türkiye Century route, we will shape our stance on the world and its affairs on the brink of a new international system.

"The international system cannot generate peace, stability, and justice for much of the world."

Unfortunately, the current international system cannot generate peace, stability, and justice for much of the world. The increasingly unbalanced international system contains numerous unpredictable developments, which increase fragility. We observe that armed conflicts, terrorism, xenophobia, irregular migration, climate crisis, among other challenges, trigger each other. We are dealing with challenges such as inflation, energy crisis, and food shortages caused by global-scale warfare. The prosperity brought about by globalization is not equitably shared on an international level. Ultimately, the current global system is experiencing a more complex and multifaceted crisis. Change is necessary. So, how will this change occur? It will depend on the policy choices of leading states. Türkiye, under the leadership of our esteemed President, is undoubtedly one of the leading states.

"Our vision is to make Türkiye one of the founding actors of the system."

History has shown us through bitter experiences that these crises cannot continue as they are. Change is necessary. So, how will this change occur? Who will be the actors? How the international system will take shape at this turning point will depend on the policy choices of leading states and their abilities to implement these choices. Türkiye, under the leadership of President Erdoğan, is without a doubt one of these leading states.

As we step into the 100th year of our Republic and the 500th anniversary of our Foreign Ministry, we are entering the Türkiye Century. Our vision is to make Türkiye one of the founding actors of the system. We will achieve this great goal by anticipating change. Due to the Russia-Ukraine War, the world is currently grappling with challenges such as global-scale inflation, stagnation, energy crisis, and food shortages.

"We will not allow terrorist organizations in our country and our region."

Together with all relevant institutions, we will not allow terrorist organizations and their backers any room to breathe in our country and our region; we will leave them no space and deny them any respite. In this regard, while increasing our military, intelligence, and technological capabilities domestically, we will continue our fight by effectively collaborating with our allies abroad.

Labeling Türkiye as an extra-regional power, or even as an adversary, by developing baseless concepts detached from history, is arguably the most perilous mistake that can be made in the Balkans. In an environment where the EU and NATO memberships of all Balkan countries, including Moldova and Ukraine, are discussed, impeding Türkiye's EU membership process is a strategic blindness. In the new era, a visionary approach to Türkiye-European Union relations and reviving the process with the perspective of full membership is of utmost importance. The EU cannot become a true actor without Türkiye. Revitalizing the process with full membership is crucial.