Possibilities for Cooperation with Japan in the Middle East Discussed TEPAV and ORSAM organized a roundtable meeting with the theme "Turkey - Japan Cooperation for Peacebuilding in the Middle East: With a Special Focus on Afghanistan".
ANKARA - In the meeting organized in collaboration by TEPAV and Middle East Strategic Research Center (ORSAM) on March 23, 2011 Wednesday, possibilities for Turkey-Japan cooperation in the Middle East were discussed with a special emphasis on Afghanistan.
The roundtable meeting with the theme "Turkey - Japan Cooperation for Peacebuilding in the Middle East: With a Special Focus on Afghanistan" received wide participation from different circles including diplomacy, academia, civil society and public and private sector representatives. The meeting composed of two sessions: "Turkey and Japan's Policies towards the Middle East" and "Peacebuilding in Afghanistan: Politics, Security, Economy".
We have much to learn from Turkey
In the first session moderated by Former State Minister Vehbi Dinçerler, Prof. Hisae Nakanishi of Doshisha University Graduate School of Global Studies delivered a speech. Nakanishi stated that they appreciated Turkey's bilateral initiatives in the region and that Japan had a lot to learn from Turkey with this respect. Being the team leader of the initiative "Conflict Mitigation in the Middle East" that carries out activities in Beirut, Amman and Palestine, she shared the impressions she got on the region. She said that the Middle East goes through an unstoppable process of transformation with awareness increasing and that young activists in particular made substantial efforts to this end. She stressed the importance of cooperating with the civil society in activities to be carried out in the region.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özlem Tür of Middle East Technical University said that Turkey gave opportunities to Turkey to play an important role in the Middle East and that at the current state Turkey became an emerging model in the region as an economic power and a soft power.
Tarık Oğuzlu of Bilkent University, maintaining that Turkish foreign policy is in progress but still confusing, said that Turkey does not want to challenge the Middle Eastern leaders for security considerations but on the other hand it has responsibility because of the Ottoman legacy.
Prof. Dr. Ryoji Tateyama from the National Defense Academy of Japan and Prof. Norman COOK, Doshisha University Project Advisor also delivered speeches. Cook assessed the approaches of Japan and Canada to peacebuilding in the past and in the present as well as the role of the civil society institutions in the process.
New initiatives needed to build capacity
Moderating the second session of the meeting, ORSAM Chief Advisor Armağan Kuloğlu stated that international forces' restoring central capacity is the only way for the stability in Afghanistan. Stressing that new initiatives can foster capacity building measures, he said that Turkish PRT in Cozcan and Vardak, construction works and providing education were Turkey's important contributions in Afghanistan.
Speaking about the studies Japan carried out in Afghanistan, Prof. Dr. Yasuyuki Shimada of Kobe University said that Japan has provided assistance to Afghanistan for a long time and that reconstruction of the Kabul international airport was among the projects carried out in the region. Stating that the next project would be on the development of the new capital city, Shimada said that Turkey and Japanese International cooperation Agency (JICA) are scheduled to conduct a joint assistance initiative.
Security itself is not a solution
Burçin Gönenli from the Foreign Ministry of Turkey stated that there was progress in Afghanistan compared to the previous years, and stressed that although the international community should support the country in this process. He added that, security itself was not a solution and that reconstruction and regional cooperation also needed to be progressed. He maintained that Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA) carried out the majority of the ongoing construction projects in the region.
Commenting on the ethnic structure of Afghanistan, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hasan Ali Karasar of Bilkent University stated that Peshtuns were the dominant power in the region and in this context highlighted the political impact of Pakistan on Afghanistan. He stressed that, never being one united state throughout history, people in Afghanistan did not associate themselves with being an Afghani and that the parliament did not reflect the ethnic balances. He added that the memories of the bloodshed in the past was still very fresh in the minds of Afghanis, and maintained that the international community was not playing a constructive role in integrating the society.
In the session Aslı Karatekin from Construction Industry Employers' Union of Turkey (INTES) gave information about the efforts made in Afghanistan with respect to vocational training in collaboration with Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK).
