- era of Turkish-British relations
Turkey and U.K relations are undergoing a golden era with increasing trade and investments. The U.K., which has been a big supporter of Turkey’s accession to the EU, might be leaving the club, however, bilateral relations are getting stronger with increased mutual trust. As a testament to this, the U.K’s reaction to the failed coup attempt in 2016 played a very important role for closer relations. The Minister for Europe and the Americas, Alan Duncan, who visited Turkey only three days after the defeated coup, was the first European official to show support to Turkey following the attempted putsch.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s official three-day visit to the U.K. started on Sunday, May 13. He will meet Queen Elizabeth II and British Prime Minister Theresa May during his visit to London. On the first day of his visit, he attended the closing dinner of Turkish-British Tatli Dil Forum. The forum, established in 2011, gathers leading figures from the fields of academia, business, media politics to strengthen relations between Turkey and the U.K. He also talked at Chatham House, a London-based think tank.
During his meetings, Erdogan is expected to address topics such as the development of cooperation between the countries in the economy, trade, security, the defense industry and culture; developments in Syria and Iraq; regional developments -- including the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA); relations with the European Union and jointly combatting terrorism.
Speaking on the closing day of the 7th Tatli Dil Forum, Erdogan addressed the forum – a mechanism aimed at boosting relations between Turkey and the U.K.
Erdogan detailed how the foundations of the forum were laid back in 2011 when he served as prime minister, along with then-British Premier David Cameron.
On reviewing the “nearly 500 years” of history between Turkey and Britain, Erdogan cited landmarks such as Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt (1789-1801) and the Crimean War (1853-1856) as promoting rapprochement between the two.
Erdogan said a replica of an Ottoman (decoration) awarded by Sultan Selim III to Britain’s legendary Admiral Lord Nelson for his service during the French campaign in Egypt in 1798 was placed at the entrance of the hall where the Tatli Dil Forum was held on Sunday, showing the deep ties between the two countries.
Underlining the U.K.’s “sincere solidarity” after the July 2016 defeated coup attempt by FETO, Erdogan said, “we will never forget the solidarity shown with our country.”
“I especially thank Alan [Duncan] very much for this,” Erdogan said, adding that British officials showed a pro-democracy stance by firmly rejecting the vile coup attempt while many other Western countries even failed to condemn it.
On trade between the two countries, Erdogan said the U.K. is Turkey’s second-biggest export market and expressed hope that the two countries would increase the trade volume from $16 billion to $20 billion. On defense cooperation, Erdogan called for the joint marketing of commonly developed and manufactured products to third countries.
“The synergy that will occur when Turkey’s operational opportunities and the U.K.’s financial power come together will bring very big benefits to both sides,” he said.