CAIRO: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu kicked off the American University in Cairo’s new School of Global Affairs and Policy’s public lecture series Wednesday, discussing the role of Turkey in the Middle East as an “order-instituting country.
“Turkey is no longer a country which only reacts to crises, but notices the crises before their emergence and intervenes effectively and gives shape to the order of its surrounding region, Davutoglu said, “we want to increase the momentum [of adaptation] of the region.
Davutoglu explained that a lot of the problems with regards to foreign policy are related to foreign misconceptions about the Middle East. “The concept of the Middle East is subjective, and Turkey has to take on the role of an order-instituting country in all these regions, he said.
Davutoglu is a political scientist, an academic and an ambassador. On May 1, 2009, he was named Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey after being Chief Advisor to the Turkish Prime Minister.
Nabil Fahmy, founding dean of the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at AUC, said that “His Excellency’s scope in coming here today, like ours, is to make a positive difference in the world.
Since he became foreign minister, Davutoglu has called for the Turkish Republic to have a more influential role in world politics, in terms of the interpretation of its history, and not to merely remain a regional power, and that Turkey just like countries in the region must begin adapting to current times by reinterpreting their rich history.
“In 1989 and after the Gulf War, the region has witnessed many conflicts, and special attention began being devoted to it from abroad. Turkey for example is now faced with, and is responding to, high levels of migration from Bosnia, Albania, and Caucasia, as well as issues surrounding Cyprus and collaborations with the European Union, he said.
“You can change everything, but not your geography nor [your] nation’s history; one must accept these parameters and conditions, but one can change the interpretation of history and geography to adapt in the Post Cold War era, he continued.
Davutoglu also called for adapting to current times. “After the Napoleonic War the Middle East changed, and when Napoleon came to Cairo in 1978 the system here changed, so we must change our interpretation of history to be able to face the current crises, he said.
“We must acknowledge that the Middle East region has always been a region filled with multi-religious and multicultural vibrance but it is in re-thinking history that adaptation can begin he said.
His speech left students optimistic and enlightened about improving relations between the Middle East and western countries.
“I actually never thought that Turkey sees Arab countries as partners, and not just as pieces of a conflicted region, said Dania Liekani, an American journalism and mass communications graduate student.
“This speech set the goal for the new graduate school for the next years at AUC, which is to never underestimate your power, like Turkey doesn’t underestimate its own, Ahmed AbdelAziz, an engineering sophomore, said.
