Türkiye at UNGA 81: Masterclass in 360-degree foreign policy

• Klaus Jurgens is the director of Economyfirst Limited London

Much has been said and written about the dysfunctionality of the United Nations, with some external analysts going so far as to argue its entire structure is not fit for purpose. Fair enough, an academic exercise. Yet real change can only come from within; member states themselves must get ready to reform the UN. Enter the Republic of Türkiye and its unwavering desire to do just that – not abolish it but make it better, or, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rightfully insists, "the world is bigger than five." The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, if seen from Ankara’s perspective, might just have become a milestone in this undertaking. Through Türkiye's empathy, global commitment and solidarity with the oppressed, the Turkish roadmap took center stage. Quick explainer: UNGA runs for an entire year, from September 2026 until September 2027. Yet what makes the headlines is the so-called high-level meetings week that takes place now.

Calling a spade a spade – President Erdogan speaks

How important UNGA 81 is for Ankara was underlined by the fact that a book has swiftly been published in English, Arabic and Turkish by the Presidency featuring the president’s speech. Türkiye has come full circle, from splendid isolation two and a half decades ago to being a globally recognized and trusted foreign policy-making actor or, in the words of the head of Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization (MIT), Ibrahim Kalin, in 2018, when he was the president’s spokesperson, Türkiye sees foreign policy from a 360-degree angle.

What can we take home from Erdogan's speech? In a journalistic nutshell and based on excerpts from listening live via translation, he reiterated that not inviting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to speak in person but only via video link is an injustice. Erdogan described the past 30 years as the bloodiest ever seen, mentioning Myanmar, Darfur, Ukraine, Palestine and Lebanon. Referring to Gaza, he said that 74,000 innocent citizens were killed, mostly women and children, and Gaza has become the world’s largest graveyard. Saying that none of this is a personal matter only of interest to himself but concerns the collective conscience of humanity, he went on to say the United Nations rendered itself unable to work. Asian workers, as well as African nations facing a capitalist threat, came up, as did the need for a new paradigm for the world based on income equality. Another focus was the keyword connectivity – this implies roads, transport and energy in regions of the world where they are still lacking; only then would society follow.

But while addressing those issues of worldwide concern, Erdogan made sure that, as mentioned above, his nation is appreciated as a leading global actor by underlining that Türkiye has a resilient economy, a top defense industry and is an integral part of Europe. Of course, the recent Ankara NATO Summit and Türkiye’s commitment to security came up too. And the impressive list of topics went on, including COP 31 in Antalya and the suggestion to have a Turkish director at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Handshakes that shift the global order

And Türkiye led the way with a remarkable number of exactly those important face-to-face meetings. Naming only a selection, Erdogan spoke, for example, with leaders from Poland, Japan, Bangladesh, Senegal and Qatar, as well as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. If we then take into account that he met with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of UNGA as well, besides attending the annual reception for heads of state and government hosted by Trump at a famous downtown hotel, it is only fair to say that Türkiye was in high demand from all four corners of the world indeed.

And one of those four corners of the world is most naturally the United Kingdom. The president met face-to-face with Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who just settled into his new role. But the fascinating dimension is that regardless of whether a conservative or socialist prime minister resides at 10 Downing Street, cooperation is going from strength to strength. Defense, trade, tourism, education, you name it. A government in Ankara that can proudly be categorized as moderate conservative can successfully deal with either a staunchly left-leaning British government or with an almost sister-party counterpart hailing from the Conservatives. Could Burnham become an ally with regard to UN reform? Could he agree on condemning West Bank "settler" violence? What about the two-state solution? Why not! In diplomacy, bilateral relations often pave the way for bigger multilateral efforts.

Attending with a powerful top-level delegation headed by the president, clearly outlining the country's foreign policy-making objectives, engaging in face-to-face diplomacy with leaders from around the world and, for example, connecting with the Turkish business community in New York and beyond all contribute to a successful four-day trip. But the real "tangible" benefit is that Erdogan and his delegation did not play to their domestic gallery, so to speak, like most other nations; Türkiye addressed its global audience instead. Diplomacy 2.0, certainly. Can the UN be reformed into a working institution promoting peace, justice and no more genocides? Figuratively speaking, for this to happen, it needs many more Türkiyes; copycats very welcome.

*Opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Anadolu.