Turkey - Lıbya Strategic Dialogue
“Thinking Diplomacy: New World New Horizons“When we look at the main trends in the world, global competition in the age of new economy based on "information and knowledge-based products" following "soil and machinery" is developing through "micro-nationalism", "integration" and "unpredictability’’. Challenges that determine the new nature of life and state; such as " crisis in resource and sharing ", unsustainability of production-consumption-growth formula, purge of the middle class with Chinese leverage, energy, water, and food insecurity, transition to the 4th dimension, liquidation of human resources in the workforce, transition from hard power to soft and smart power on the basis of the very changing state nature and anticipation management, can be formed as the basic references.
Within all these fundamental parameters, the transformations in technology are prone to change the whole human life and nature by developing with artificial intelligence, virtual/enhanced reality and mobility centered. It is obvious that the concepts of "Industry 4.0" and "Society 5.0" are important topics for managing the transformation of the world within the dimensions of industry and society. Another contributive factor is the turbulence that China creates as it begins to become intensively dominant on the world stage day to day. The New Silk Road project, "One Belt and One Road Initiative"; is shaped as a global integration project involving more than hundred countries, both on land and at sea, permanently changing the distribution of economic shares. In countries with no middle class, authoritarian regimes or chaos stands as two options in the fore-seeable future. How to make the division of labor in terms of regional and global security and how to share the costs is also a point of discussion in the coming period.
The development of new alliances on security can be read from the risks and the initiatives undertaken by dominant countries. The quality of the concepts of property and power, and the business model change historically. The future of the EU with the "Failure in Success" syndrome will be determined by the results of the polarization which revived in the West after the Brexit. Along with all these developments, "Ecosystem of safety" changes with the law. The "Security - Democracy" dilemma will be experienced much more after that. Because, for the democracy, it is difficult to survive in countries where the middle class is melting and security leans to a sophisticated ground. The question "Will security bring us authoritarian regimes" needs to be discussed further.
Turkey distinguishes itself with an 84-million inhabitants, growing economy and geo-strategic status in the center of Afro-Eurasia. Turkey's historical, political and cultural ties between Europe, Black Sea, Caucasus, Asia, Middle East and African countries, rising activity in the international arena, especially in the United Nations, being an important member of organizations such as NATO, OSCE and CICA and with active foreign policy, it has become an increasingly important actor on the global platform.
Libya, with an area of approximately 1.8 million square kilometers which is the fourth country in Africa and the 16th in the world, is the 10th country with the highest proven oil reserves. With its re-emerging activity in the international arena as a member of organizations such as the Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League, OIC, OPEC and especially the United Nations, and with recent collaborations with Turkey, it has also become an increasingly important actor in the global platform, especially in the Mediterranean,
Due to its historical and cultural bonds, Turkey attaches utmost importance to the security and welfare of the Libyan people. The relations that started between the Turkish and Libyan peoples during the Ottoman period gained momentum again with the diplomatic relations established after the Libyan State, which was established in 1951, was immediately recognized by Turkey. Following the 2011 revolution, Turkey recognized the National Transitional Council as the "only representative of the Libyan people". Established in accordance with the Libyan Political Agreement signed in 2015, the Presidential Council took office in 2016 and was recognized by the United Nations Security Council as the country's sole legitimate executive body. Turkey was the first country to visit the Presidential Council at its headquarters. Turkey's relations with Libya are being developed in all possible fields on the basis of contributing to the establishment of lasting peace, stability and security in Libya and on the basis of mutual benefit. In this framework, Memorandums of Understanding on "Limitation of Maritime Jurisdiction in the Mediterranean" and "Security and Military Cooperation" were signed with the Government of National Accord in 2019. There is no any problem in bilateral relations between Turkey and Libya. There are several agreements signed by the two countries in various areas, which constitute legal basis of the relations. Both countries consider the regional problems in the same manner.
Turkey and Libya have hundreds of years old cultural and political relations and they have numerous experiences of joint governance and unity of destiny. In addition to the bilateral relations, both countries have close cooperation in the frame of international and regional organizations such as the UN and OIC. However, the level of relations between Turkey and Libya is well under the potential regarding the political affinity. That both countries have concentrated in their own regions for years have been effective at this point, in addition to the regional policies of the Western countries.
The trade volume between Turkey and Libya stays under the existing potential, too. The bilateral trade volume between Turkey and Libya stood at 2.441 billion dollars in 2019 and trade gap weigh against Libya was 1.485 billion dollars. The main products exported by Turkey to Libya are furniture and accessories, textile products, jewellery, carpets, medicine and cement. The main products exported by Libya to Turkey are gold, crude oil products, scrap metals.
Final situation which have come up after the change and transformation movements in the Middle East and Mediterranean has led to a promising environment that can bring bilateral relations up to the required level. Turkey also provides active support to international efforts to find a political solution to the problem in Libya under the leadership of the UN and through dialogue among Libyans. In this context, he also participated in the Berlin Conference, which was organized in 2020 to find a political solution to the Libyan crisis and attended by many countries.
Turkey and Libya, as two main Mediterranean countries, have common interest in the economic, strategic, political and security fields in terms of their relations with Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and OIC countries. Today, when relations of mutual dependence are gradually deepening around the world, it is crucial for the interests of both countries to increase economic, social and political interactivities and to provide peace and security regarding such factors as the necessity of improving economic relations, contributing in global energy security, struggling with smuggling and terrorism.
In addition to the interventions of foreign powers in the region, historical baggage has prevented bilateral relations to be deepened sufficiently. However, if France and Germany, which once were relentless enemies, have been able to cooperate to lay the foundations of the EU; it is crucial for Turkey and Libya, which are neighbors via Mediterranean and the two important countries of the Middle East, to have a broader and deeper cooperation for the sake of regional and global peace and welfare.
Both countries can develop an effective strategic cooperation to ensure sustainability of the critical long term interests. At this point, it is necessary to look at the events through a broader perspective in terms of politics, economy, diplomacy and geo-strategy. In order to bring the Turkish - Libyan relations to an ideal point in a world system that is increasingly gaining a multidimensional appearance, Turkish and Libyan policy makers must steer for a structure that may constitute mutual depth not only on the political and strategic grounds but in all the parameters. Also it is being deeply felt that there is an urgent necessity for collaborative works of the two countries so that the solutions for the regional issues can be found. History offers both the two countries opportunities for deepening their interdependency. In this regard, the Turkey - Libya Strategic Dialogue, which will bring together the representatives of the related sectors in a comprehensive way that includes the strategic dimension of the relations, will play a significant role.
Main Theme
Thinking Diplomacy: New World New Horizons
Sub Themes
New Balances New Economy
New Multi-Dimensional Security Parameters in the North Africa and Mediterranean
Security, Defence and Defence Industry
Economic Cooperation
Transportation and Logistics
Multi-Dimensional Security and Struggle with Terrorism
Bilateral and Multilateral Capacity Building in Member Countries of the OIC
Innovation in Public Management and Technology Sharing
Academic and Cultural Cooperation Opportunities
Common Regional and Global Perspectives
Primary Sectors
Public Diplomacy, Education and Language
Culture and Tourism
Construction, Construction Business and Infrastructure
Health and Health Tourism
Energy, Petro-chemistry and Investments
Logistics, Transportation and Communication
Banking and Finance (Strategic Investment Fund)
Economy and Trade
Media and Communication
Science and Technology
Brand Cities and Environment
Defence and Space Industry
STUDIES AND ACTIVITIES (DRAFT)
Method
Inductive Reasoning, Participation and Economic Deepening
Turkey - Libya Committee of Wise Persons Meetings Workshop
Building Capacity and Ecosystem Inventory
Preparation of Research Projects and their Reports
Development of Pro-active Policy Recommendations
Round-Table Meetings/Workshops
Multilateral Workshops/Studies
Sector Workshops/Activities
Applied Interactive Modelings
Strategic Reports
Publication of sector studies as strategic reports for decision makers, private sector, media and public opinion of the two countries. Providing literature and memory support.
Media Conferences
Other Academic Studies
Strategic Reports, Books, Articles, Thesis and so on Academic Studies
Event Page
https://tasam.org/en/Etkinlik/18292/turkey_-_libya_strategic_dialogue
