Antalya Forum for Diplomacy…Contexts and Outcomes
Introduction :
The activities of the Antalya Forum for Diplomacy were held between the eleventh and thirteenth of this month under the slogan “Rebuilding Diplomacy”, where the forum witnessed the wide participation of several prominent personalities in the fields of politics, economy and diplomacy. During the forum sessions, the participants discussed several topics related to the current global challenges and the mechanisms to confront them.
This paper aims to shed light on the most important sessions of the Forum and the contexts of its convening, especially in light of the transformations and events taking place in the international arena at the present time.
About the forum:
“Antalya Diplomatic Forum” is a high-level gathering of politicians, diplomats, opinion makers and researchers interested in international affairs. The forum represents a dialogue platform for regional and international actors and influencers in the fields of diplomacy, politics and economy to exchange ideas on current challenges and mechanisms to confront them[1].
This year’s forum comes in its second edition after last year’s edition, which witnessed the participation of more than 2,000 guests, including heads of state and government, foreign ministers and high-level representatives of various international organizations. Where the Antalya Diplomatic Forum 2021 came out with several outputs and recommendations on global and regional issues, and the forum is considered the first conference to be held in attendance and with significant participation in the post-pandemic period, as it received wide interest among researchers and those interested in international relations, who considered it an important event in the field of foreign and diplomatic policy.
Forum contexts:
The convening of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum coincides with the height of the military escalation in Eastern Europe, which is witnessing a Russian military operation in Ukraine that has left several repercussions and security disturbances, leading to the imposition of international economic sanctions on Russia and the displacement of about 2.5 million Ukrainians, according to United Nations statistics[2].
On the other hand, the forum comes in the post-pandemic stage and the continuous talk about recovering from the repercussions of the epidemic at the economic level, and the need to formulate policies and development plans derived from the lessons of the pandemic and consistent with the goals of sustainable development.
Forum participants:
Antalya Forum for Diplomacy witnessed a wide participation of a large number of politicians, businessmen and researchers. Nest for Exhibitions and Conferences, located in Belek Tourist Center.
In view of the military escalation in Eastern Europe due to the developments related to the Russian military operation in Ukraine referred to previously, the forum activities witnessed the participation of the Foreign Ministers of Russia and Ukraine, who met with Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu in a session that attracted a great deal of attention from the media and academic circles. [3] ].
The forum also witnessed the participation of officials from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union, including NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. The foreign ministers of Venezuela, Finland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Palestine and Sweden also participated in the forum’s sessions and activities, in addition to the Latvian Minister of Defense Artis Pabrix.
Forum program and sessions:
The forum’s activities lasted for three days, during which the participants discussed several topics and challenges that cast a shadow on the international scene. A special focus was placed on reactivating diplomacy and dialogue to resolve and settle differences through the slogan “Meet For Diplomacy.” The most important sessions of the forum can be summarized as follows: the following:
First day :
The beginning of the forum’s activities was with an opening speech by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which he welcomed the participants and invitees, with his appreciation for the forum’s role as a platform for dialogue and diplomacy. Where he tried to address several topics in his opening speech, especially the war in Ukraine[4].
After the Turkish President’s speech, the forum’s discussion sessions were officially launched, as several topics related to the current challenges were discussed, the first of which was the topic of international peace and security in several sessions, the first of which was a session entitled “The Price of Peace or the Cost of War”, and a second session entitled “The Path to Peace and Prosperity” and another Entitled “Multilateralism for Peace and Stability,” it was revitalized by Delcy Rodriguez, Vice President of the State of Venezuela, and another session was devoted to the topic of global health, in which the participants generally discussed global health governance, especially in light of what the world has witnessed in the past two years due to the Corona pandemic [5]. ].
On the other hand, the participants discussed the Turkish-European relations and their regional contexts, in addition to the issue of maritime disputes falling within the framework of the international law of the sea.
In view of the geopolitical importance that Turkey attaches to the Balkan region and what the latter is witnessing in its regional neighborhood, a session was devoted to it entitled “The Balkans”, in addition to another discussion session entitled “Migration” in which the phenomenon of migration and the challenges associated with it at the international and regional levels were discussed.
Second day:
On the second day, several sessions were organized on many topics covering several fields and fields, where the participants addressed several international and regional geopolitical issues related to all regions of the world, especially the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, the ongoing transformations in Afghanistan and the security and defense policy in Europe.
In addition, other discussion sessions were devoted to the topics of combating terrorism, climate challenges, energy security and green economy, global governance and democracy, parliamentary diplomacy, cultural heritage and how to manage it, women’s rights, youth and solidarity within the framework of international cooperation.
the third day :
The third and final day of the forum’s activities was marked by the organization of two discussion sessions on the topic for food security and racism in addition to a youth event on sports. On the sidelines of the forum on March 10, 2022, a tripartite meeting took place to discuss the crisis in Ukraine, in the presence of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Russia, Sergey Lavrov, and Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine, where the latter agreed to continue negotiations, despite their failure to settle the crisis and declare a ceasefire. even temporarily [6].
IFPMC- London
Junior researcher
email:abdelssami@ifpmc.org
:References
[1] About, Antalya Diplomacy Forum, Official Website, accessed on 13/03/2022, link: https://bit.ly/3i1AQzt
[2] Ukraine Refugees Figure Soars to 2.5 Million, U.N. Says, The Wall Street Journal, 11/03/2022, accessed on 13/03/2022 at: https://on.wsj.com/34GDyYe
[3] منتدى أنطاليا الدبلوماسي.. تعرَّف تفاصيل المشاركين ومحاور الجلسات، TRT عربي، 10/03/2022، شوهد في : 13/03/2022 في : https://bit.ly/3CGwN5m
[4] Türkiye’s President Erdogan speaks at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2022, YouTube, 11/03/2022 accessed on 13/03/2022, at : https://bit.ly/3JdmWWV
[5] Forum Program of ADF 2022, ADF official website, accessed on 13/03/2022, at : https://bit.ly/3CNCFtp
[6] وزيرا خارجية روسيا وأوكرانيا يعربان عن استعدادهما لمواصلة الحوار بشأن الصراع، وكالة الانباء الصنية ، 10/03/2022 شوهد في 13/03/2022، في : https://bit.ly/35WFUmj
