President Erdoğan's 2023 diplomacy: Gaza is busiest agenda

After the election, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan intensified his international engagements, consistently placing the Gaza situation on the agenda during meetings with world leaders since October, coinciding with Israel's attacks on Gaza. Following the seismic events centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, Erdoğan focused extensively on the region, hosting numerous foreign leaders throughout the year. In terms of foreign visits, Erdoğan, who assumed the presidency again after the second round of elections in May, embarked on his initial overseas trips to TRNC and Azerbaijan on June 12. Over the course of his foreign visits, he participated in seven summits and made five foreign trips in July alone. Notable stops included Vilnius on July 10, where he attended the NATO Heads of State and Government Summit, and a tour of Gulf countries (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates) on July 17-18-19. He revisited TRNC on July 20. Further international engagements included a visit to Hungary on August 20 for the Hungarian State Foundation Day celebrations and participation in some events of the World Athletics Championship hosted by Hungary. On September 4, Erdoğan accepted an invitation from Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, undertaking a one-day working visit to Sochi. Subsequently, he attended the G20 Leaders Summit in India on September 8 and the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in New York from September 16 to 20. PEACE DIPLOMACY FOR PALESTINE In a series of visits during November, Erdoğan attended the 10th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States in Kazakhstan on November 2. Addressing the summit, he emphasized the importance of unity among the Turkish world to facilitate a ceasefire and pave the way for lasting peace. During the 16th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization in Uzbekistan on November 8, Erdoğan condemned Israel's actions, stating that the Israeli administration, with the support of Western countries, had violated fundamental human values. A one-day working visit to Germany on November 17 saw Erdoğan emphasizing the need for a free and unrestricted dialogue on the Israel-Palestine conflict. He highlighted Türkiye's independence of expression, stating that they did not owe Israel a debt and could speak freely on the matter. Attending the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in the United Arab Emirates on November 30, Erdoğan focused on discussions related to Israel's attacks on Palestinian lands and Türkiye's humanitarian efforts for peace. FIRST VISIT AFTER 6 YEARS Concluding the year, Erdoğan's final foreign engagement took him to Hungary on December 18 for the sixth meeting of the Turkey-Hungary High Level Strategic Cooperation Council. TELEPHONE DIPLOMACY Erdoğan engaged in discussions with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli President Isaac Herzog, U.S. President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Lebanese Prime Minister Necip Mikati, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Iranian President Ibrahim Reisi. PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN'S INAUGURATION CEREMONY The event saw the presence of distinguished figures such as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba, Guinea Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Montenegrin President Yakov Milatovic, Kazakhstan President Kasım Cömert Tokayev, Kyrgyz Republic President Sadır Caparov, Congo President Denis Sassou N'Guesso, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, TRNC President Ersin Tatar, North Macedonia President Stevo Pendarovski, Uzbekistan President Shavket Mirziyoyev, Rwanda President Paul Kagame, Senegal President Macky Sall, Somali President Hasan Şeyh Mahmud, Togo President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Bangladesh President Muhammad Shahabuddin Chuppu, Guinea President Mamady Doumbouya, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dibeybe. The ceremony also witnessed the attendance of key figures such as Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Kubanychbek Ömuraliyev, Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Huseyin Ibrahim Taha, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Viktorovich Volodin, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China Ding Zhongli, Presidential Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina President Jelka Sviyanovic, Council Members Jelko Komşiç and Denis Beçirovic, Bosnia and Herzegovina Serb Entity President Milorad Dodik, former German President Christian Wulff, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, former TRNC President Derviş Eroğlu, former Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidential Council member Bakir Izetbegovic, and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt. In September, Erdoğan welcomed Sudanese Sovereignty Council President General Abdülfettah al-Burhan and the United Kingdom's Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh. The following month, Serbian Member of the Presidency Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina Zeljka Cvijanovic, along with Milorad Dodik, President of the Republika Srpska (RS), Austrian Prime Minister Karl Nehammer, Union of Comoros President Assoumani Azali, Malaysian Prime Minister Enver Ibrahim, Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and Federal Republic of Somalia President Hasan Sheikh Mahmud visited.