Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkey is seeking to join BRICS nations as part of efforts to strengthen its economy after decades of unsuccessful attempts to gain membership in the European Union.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is “keen to increase Turkey’s economic options”, and the EU was “our first choice,” Fidan told Bloomberg TV in an interview on Friday.
“If we cannot be part of the EU, then other alternatives will always be on the table.”
The minister’s remarks underscore Turkey’s ongoing search for economic alliances that could serve as an alternative to the EU.
Fidan stressed that Turkey has not entirely abandoned hope of joining the bloc and reiterated Ankara’s long-standing complaint that cultural differences are the main reason for its stalled accession.
The EU has said Turkey’s membership is blocked due to concerns over human rights and democratic standards.
Turkey has submitted a formal bid to join BRICS, with its leaders arguing that membership would grant Turkish businesses easier access to major emerging markets.
However, Turkey said in November it has only been granted “partner-country status,” short of full membership.
“In the modern world, no one country can alone overcome economic and political issues,” the minister said at the G-20 summit of foreign ministers in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Referring to BRICS, he said, “We are interested, but we have not been offered a membership yet.”
The BRICS group — the acronym represents members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — has been expanding, adding five more nations, including Iran and Indonesia, in the past year.
Others are seeking to join the bloc, which controls a multilateral lender and has drawn the ire of US President Donald Trump for potentially undermining the global role of the dollar.
While BRICS countries co-operate on some level — particularly financial — they lack the cohesiveness of the EU, in part due to different interests and economic trajectories.
For Fidan, a greater focus on international cooperation would benefit all countries.
“If we can institutionalise multilateralism, it would be easy for us to address the problems of geopolitics, war and peace and economic problems,” he said.
Instead, “Self-help is on the menu for every nation state. So it encourages very fierce competition,” Fidan said.
Turkey’s push for multilateral action is reflected in its approach to Africa, where it has forged ties with countries like Somalia on counterterrorism.
“Turkey is offering an opportunity for some African countries,” Fidan said.
BLOOMBERG
