Hakan Fidan represented Türkiye as the 162nd Arab League Council of Foreign Ministers gathered in Egypt’s Cairo on Tuesday. His presence was historic as it was the first time in more than a decade that a Turkish foreign minister was invited to the meeting.
The convention was an opportunity for Fidan to reiterate Türkiye’s stance on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that has claimed the lives of more than 41,000 Palestinians since October 2023 and its commitment to growing ties with Arab countries.
He called upon Arab League members to show solidarity in standing against Israel while lashing out at the Netanyahu administration.
“Those continuing their support of Netanyahu are accomplices in the ongoing genocide. (Like Netanyahu), they will be held accountable for it,” Fidan told the council.
He said the Islamic world will do “whatever it takes” to protect “the Islamic identity of Haram al-Sharif with the same spirit.”
“We will continue our joint action to put pressure on the international community to reject Israel’s actions,” he said.
The contact group created by the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which pursue diplomatic efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, is a key partner of this effort, Fidan added.
Türkiye has been a fervent critic of Israel, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler, accusing Tel Aviv of committing genocide and criticizing Western nations for backing Israel.
In May, Türkiye suspended trade with Israel, citing its assault on Gaza, and in August, formally applied to join South Africa’s initiative to have Israel tried for genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
“The bloodshed in Gaza is the result of the silence against previous Israeli attacks,” Fidan said.
Ankara often calls for Muslim unity to put a stop to Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.
Fidan said he visited the Rafah border crossing last month to raise awareness about the difficulty of delivering humanitarian aid into the blockaded enclave and witnessed firsthand “how tightly organized our Egyptian friends are” to bring in aid for besieged Palestinians.
Turkish-Arab economy
Pointing out “centuries-long close relations with the Arab world,” Fidan argued Türkiye and the region share the same perspective on the same problems.
“We increase our cooperation in trade, energy and investments and we have serious potential from tourism to economy, to defense to counterterrorism,” he said.
He announced the 15th session of the Turkish-Arab Economy Forum would take place in Istanbul in October, which he hailed as a “primary tool to further advance our economic ties and explore new venues of cooperation.”
Following the 2011 Arab Spring, ideological differences and rival foreign policy objectives directed Ankara and several regional states like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Syria, Egypt and UAE in different directions.
Türkiye’s support for popular movements linked to the Muslim Brotherhood initially spurred the break with Arab regimes that saw the Brotherhood’s political vision as a threat. During the process, Türkiye and Gulf states supported opposite sides in many regional conflicts.
The Arab League also frequently condemned Türkiye’s military operations in Syria, Libya and Somalia where Ankara is either fighting PKK terrorists or lending military support to internationally recognized governments in internal conflicts.
Fidan himself led a policy of rapprochement under orders from Erdoğan with Gulf states in 2020 when he was helming Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT).
He promoted long-term mutual benefits in cooperation and trade, which remained intact and only surged during the past decade.
On the margins of the summit, Fidan met with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and several of his Arab counterparts, including Badr Abdelatty of Egypt and Ayman Safadi of Jordan.
Mending fences
Since 2022, Ankara sought to repair ties and saw success with several former rivals, including normalization with Egypt as recently as this month.
“We not only share the same faith; we are also connected by our history, geography and bonds of friendship that challenge time,” Fidan told the council. “We must work together for regional security and stability.”
Fidan’s address follows Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s first visit to Türkiye in 12 years last week, aimed at fully resuming bilateral ties.
Cairo played a key role in facilitating Fidan’s participation, as did recent Turkish diplomatic efforts like the foreign minister’s meetings with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and ambassadors of Arab countries.
Consequently, the Arab League dissolved its committee charged with exploring “Türkiye’s intervention in the internal affairs of the Arab states” and also dropped the related proposed topic of debate for the summit.
For the first time in years, the 22-member league did not criticize Türkiye in the summit declaration.
Ankara has mended fences with the UAE and Saudi Arabia in recent years. Though reconciliation efforts with Syria lag, as the issue of Turkish troops and Syrian refugees remains largely unsolved, Erdoğan has recently said he may invite Syrian leader Bashar Assad to Türkiye soon, highlighting Türkiye’s willingness to “make friends with all its neighbors.”
