Turkish foreign minister to represent President Erdogan at Southeast European Cooperation Process summit

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will represent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP) Heads of State and Government Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Ministry sources said.

The summit, hosted under Bulgaria’s rotating chairmanship, will be held under the theme “Strengthening Regional Unity for a Stable, Secure and Sustainable Future: Reflections on 30 Years of Partnership and Progress.”

Heads of state and government, foreign ministers from the SEECP’s 13 participating countries, and the secretary-general of the Regional Cooperation Council, the organization’s operational arm, are expected to attend.

Participants are also expected to adopt a summit declaration.

In his address, Fidan is expected to reiterate Türkiye’s support for enhanced cooperation in the Balkans based on the principles of regional ownership and inclusiveness, while emphasizing the importance Ankara attaches to the SEECP as one of the region’s main dialogue platforms and a founding member of the initiative.

Fidan is also expected to emphasize the strategic importance of the Balkans to both regional and broader international security, highlighting the need to strengthen good-neighborly relations and regional cooperation.

The Turkish foreign minister is expected to underscore Türkiye’s support for connectivity projects, including transportation and energy networks, to deepen regional integration and promote economic growth and prosperity.

Fidan is expected to reaffirm Türkiye’s support for diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting peace in the Russia-Ukraine war and to call for continued dialogue between Iran and the US to prevent renewed regional tensions.

Fidan is also expected to draw attention to the fact that Israel's occupation and annexation policies in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon aim to create a permanent environment of instability and conflict in the Middle East and to emphasize that these unlawful actions by Israel remind the international community once again of its shared responsibilities based on peace and justice and that international law and humanitarian values ​​must be protected without exception.

Founded in 1996, the SEECP is the only regional cooperation platform that includes all Balkan countries. Its members are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Türkiye.

Structured as a flexible permanent consultation mechanism and run with one-year rotating presidencies, Türkiye held the rotating presidency of the SEECP in 1998-1999, 2009-2010, and 2020-2021.

Romania is set to assume the rotating SEECP chairmanship on July 1, 2026.