Turkey’s outreach into Latin America
All eyes are fixed on the annual G20 Summit that began on Friday in Argentina’s capital Bueno Aires. Among the heads of state participating is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will also visit Paraguay and Venezuela.
The aim of his third official visit to the continent is to boost bilateral ties. Turkey’s opening up to Latin America is part of a multidimensional foreign-policy outlook that it has also applied to Africa and South Asia. A decade ago, there were only a few Turkish diplomatic missions in Latin America, and the Turkish public’s interest in the continent was limited to Brazilian soap operas.
The region had been neglected by Turkish policymakers for many years, but the past decade has seen an improvement in bilateral relations, albeit not yet to the desired level. Erdogan’s three-country tour underlines the importance Turkey now attaches to this part of the world.
His visit to Venezuela follows President Nicolas Maduro’s visit to Turkey. Maduro was the only Latin American leader to attend Erdogan’s inauguration ceremony, describing him as a friend and a leader of the new multipolar world.
There are economic and political bases for Turkey’s interest in the region. Recently, Turkey’s Independent Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (MUSIAD) expanded its global network with two new offices in Mexico and Colombia. Turkey signed a free-trade agreement with Chile in 2009, and is seeking to do so with other Latin American countries.
Moreover, Turkey’s role in the G20, of which three Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil and Mexico) are also members, has presented new opportunities for cooperation. The Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) opened its first programcoordination office in the region in 2018 in Mexico.
Ankara University has a center for Latin American studies that provides scholarly support to Turkish policymakers and sends scholars to the continent to increase knowledge of the region. Political and economic ties can only be strengthened with academic and cultural support. Turkish soap operas are among the most popular in Latin America.
The educational, cultural and humanitarian dimensions of Turkey’s approach to the continent show that Ankara is implementing a soft-power strategy. But Ariel Gonzalez Levaggi, an expert on Turkish-Latin American relations, says there is a lack of knowledge among Turkish policymakers and the private sector about the region. This could be because Turkey is a new player there.
It considers Latin America a region of opportunities for economic and other forms of cooperation. Turkey’s interest in the continent seems to be longterm, sustainable and increasing.