Turkish foreign policy gets highest rating among Arabs

WASHINGTON

Turkey received the highest approval rating from Arabs regarding its foreign policy among seven regional and global powers, according to a survey by the Arab Center in Washington DC.

The nonprofit research organization survey studied Arabs’ perspectives about their own countries' policies and those of regional and global powers.

- Turkey ranks first

A total of 58% of respondents rated Turkey’s foreign policies "positive" or "positive, to some extent."

Twenty-eight percent had negative views on Ankara’s foreign policy, while 14% "don't know" or declined to answer.

Turkey is followed by China at 55% and Germany with 52%.

"The Arab public’s most negative foreign policy evaluation in the 2019-2020 poll is of the US, Russian, Iranian, and French foreign policies," said the report.

The US and Iran received the highest negative rating, with 58% disapproving of their foreign policies.

In addition, 89% believe Israel poses a threat, 81% believe the US poses a threat and 67% of respondents expressed the belief that Iranian policies threaten the security and stability of the region.

The 2019-2020 Arab Opinion Index conducted face-to-face interviews with 28,288 respondents in 13 Arab nations, including Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Tunisia.

*Dildar Baykan contributed to this story from Washington