By Can Efesoy
The Turkish foreign minister will represent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Summit of Heads of State and Government in Skopje, North Macedonia’s capital, on Thursday.
According to diplomatic sources, Hakan Fidan will first attend the SEECP Foreign Ministers Meeting in Skopje before representing President Erdogan at the Heads of State and Government Summit.
This year's summit declaration, as is customary, will emphasize a shared desire for cooperation on all regional issues.
The foreign minister will highlight in his statements during the summit and bilateral meetings that the Balkans, also known as Southeast Europe, are a priority for Türkiye not only geographically, politically, and economically, but also in terms of historical, cultural, and people-to-people relations. He will also stress that Türkiye is an integral part of the Balkans.
Maintaining peace and stability in the Balkans is one of Türkiye's foreign policy priorities, Fidan is expected to mention efforts to prevent tensions that could jeopardize regional stability.
He will highlight Ankara's contributions to international military presences such as NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) and European Union Force (EUFOR), demonstrating its effective support for international mechanisms in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.
He will also state that his country has successfully maintained the KFOR Command since Oct. 10.
The foreign minister is expected to mention the Türkiye-Bosnia and Herzegovina-Croatia and Türkiye-Bosnia and Herzegovina-Serbia trilateral consultation mechanisms, which were initiated by Ankara, describing them as concrete examples of contributions to good neighborly relations and regional cooperation.
He will explain that Türkiye actively participates in and promotes regional cooperation through the SEECP, the only regional cooperation platform that brings together 13 Balkan countries.
He is expected to draw attention to ongoing conflicts in neighboring regions and emphasize the importance of maintaining peace and stability in Southeast Europe, as well as a continued focus on regional cooperation.
The minister is also expected to call on regional countries and the international community to help establish a just and lasting peace in the Gaza Strip.
Established in 1996, the SEECP is the only regional cooperation forum that includes all 13 Balkan countries as full members: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Greece, and Türkiye.
Kosovo joined the SEECP in 2014, with equal rights as the other members.
In addition to the annual Summit of Heads of State and Government, the SEECP holds two Foreign Ministers’ Meetings, one formal and one informal, as well as Political Directors’ Meetings regularly.
Within the framework of the SEECP, Parliament Speakers Meeting, Ministerial level sectoral meetings, expert-level sectoral meetings and conferences are also organized.
Structured as a flexible permanent consultation mechanism and conducted through annual rotating chairmanships, Türkiye has held the chairmanship of the organization in 1998-1999, 2009-2010, and 2020-2021.
North Macedonia took over the chairmanship from Montenegro on July 1, 2023, adopting the slogan “Bridging Divisions, Building Trust” for this period.
Albania will assume the SEECP chairmanship on July 1, 2024.
*Writing by Seda Sevencan