Türkiye on Friday called for economic welfare action to support “fragile” peace in many parts of the world, notably in Gaza and Syria.
“Peace, if not backed by economic development and welfare, cannot be permanent,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned as he spoke at a panel at the G-20 foreign ministers meeting in South Africa.
“In Syria, Gaza and many other places, peace is highly fragile and so long as we don’t offer realistic perspectives, economic improvements and development moves are bound to be short-lived,” Fidan said, according to Foreign Ministry sources.
Fidan stressed that the G-20 “must remain the most prioritized forum” for international economic cooperation, sources said.
The Group of 20 countries, which represent some 85% of global gross domestic product (GDP) and three-quarters of trade, met in Johannesburg on Thursday amid divisions over the Ukraine war and trade disputes.
Türkiye considers the G-20, a platform to address political issues like Israel’s attacks on Gaza and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as an important venue in terms of global economic cooperation and coordination.
Türkiye has been a staunch defender of the Palestinian cause and continues diplomatic and legal efforts to resolve the conflict. It has also acted as a mediator in the Russian-Ukrainian war.
“In order for G-20 to preserve its flexibility and up-to-dateness, it must take a series of steps with a renewed determination,” Fidan reportedly told the panel.
“These steps are striving for a more inclusive and representative global governance system, especially in maintaining international peace and security and increasing the participation of developing economies and regional actors in decision-making processes.”
He also drew attention to the importance of promoting equitable burden sharing in addressing migration and refugee crises and supporting refugee-hosting countries with sustainable frameworks, as well as ensuring better coordination of global efforts to address food security, inflation and supply chain disruptions.
Emphasizing that the G-20 could be more effective in shaping a more stable global order by recognizing the connection between geo-economics and geopolitics, Fidan pointed out that economic diplomacy channels could be used to build bridges across geopolitical divides and overcome these divisions.
“In this context, the role of the G-20 as a geo-economic balancer should be encouraged to be increased. As Türkiye, we are ready to contribute to this vision,” he said.
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