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In the future world order even political problems willhave moved into the orbit of economics. Ideologicalpolarization will be replaced by a global economicstruggle and the sphere of international affairs will

become more diversified and complicated. In foreignpolicy, traditional approaches based solely on securityand defense are giving way to one that relies oneconomic diplomacy and stresses economic priorities.All these developments, inevitably have a bearing onTurkey. They necessitate the formulation of a foreignpolicy for the age of globalization, never mind that theterm seems to be temporarily out of fashion. Such aformulation will emphasize Turkeys nationaleconomic interests in the international arena.

It is very clear that in the 21st century our country

cannot rely only on her geographical location tobe animportant actor in world politics. During the ColdWar and certainly before then as well, where Turkey issituated has inevitably given her a strategic value, andoffered her geo-strategic opportunities upon which herforeign policy could be built. In the aftermath of theCold War, however, strategic thinking must take intoaccount economic parameters. Nowadays, the prere-quisite of being a world power is to view internationalrelations from a wide perspective. A consequence ofthis new configuration is that traditional concepts of

statecraft are no longer sufficient by themselves for theconduct of policy. These days, we have to adopt amore participatory concept of diplomacy. In order forTurkey to reach the place she deserves in internationalrelations, she needs to mobilize all her resources inaglobal sense, whether these be NGOs or private sectororganizations. At this juncture, we, businessmen, have

very important duties as global actors of internationarelations..

At Turkish Industrialists and Businessmens Assocation, we have taken upon us the mission of becomin

pioneers of this new tendency that is developing throughout the world. TSADs aim is to accelerate economic and social development within a democratiorder. This makes it necessary to include foreign relatons into its field of activity. Our awareness of the vtal importance of economic diplomacy for the future oTurkey, makes us believe that businessmen should be countrys delegates in the world. Periodically, our foreign policy turns inward; as businessmen our task is tcombat this tendency and lead the country to its placin the forefront of the globalization race.

With this in mind, TSAD began to branch out anincreased its involvement in Turkeys internationarelations. In order to contribute to the efforts to join thEuropean Union, TfiADs Brussels office wainaugurated in May 1996. As a result of this our partcipation and contacts within UNICE were strengtheneand our representative power in the Council of Europethe Commission and the European Parliament wafirmly established. By using these ties we were able tcontinue our efforts to keep the lines of communicatioopen and the economic relations intact in the aftermat

of the unfortunate summit in Luxembourg at the end o1997. Our relations with UNICE had started earlier oin 1987. We felt it extremely important to cultivate oumembership in that influential body in order to pursuthe agenda of Turkish business vis a vis the EuropeaUnion. As, in the aftermath of Luxembourg, the politicadialogue was all but severed between Turkey and th

Multi-tieredDiplomacy

chairmans view

Muharrem Kayhan

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EU, we took it upon ourselves to continuecommunicating with different bodies with the EU. This

also shows that we take the customs union agreementwith the EU as something far more comprehensive thana trade agreement.

In the international arena, Turkey is faced with anumber of problems. In addition to the usual set ofissues a country needs to deal with, Turkey mustconstantly be alert to attacks coming its way from avariety of hostile groups, lobbying to undermineTurkeys relations with its allies. In suchcircumstances Turkeys efforts to counter the badpublicity and the negative campaigns about its

policies seem wanting. The most fundamental re-ason for this is our inadequacy in international com-munications and our lack of effective lobbying. He-re, the businessmen have important duties. Therefo-re, TSAD is getting ready to set on another one ofits diplomatic activities. It will send a representativeto Washington, D.C. to represent the Associationsinterests and watch over economic and politicaldevelopments concerning bilateral relations with theU.S. TSADs Representative Office in WashingtonD.C. will start its operations in November 1998.

Recently, there has been a new dynamism and vita-lity in Turkish-American relations. These relations arechanging dimensions and are shifting from beingsimply military and security relations to economic co-operation. This has brought to the agenda the conceptof enhanced partnership. In keeping with this concept,the parties are making significant efforts to diversifyand deepen their relationships. However, the first re-quirement to develop a partnership is to have openlines of communication and the flow of reliableinformation between the two countries. Another requ-irement is to further deepen mutually beneficialrelations. Turkey needs to have a better understandingof the U.S., its political and administrative system inorder to build this dialogue on solid foundations. Notto do so will be against the long term interests of ourown country, especially if we miss importantopportunities due to inadequate information and

We consider our step to open a representative inWashington, D.C., part of our mandate as a civil

society organization. The TSAD office, the firstsuch initiative by any Turkish civil societyorganization, in the U.S., will be a reference pointon Turkey in the American capital. In order to pro-tect and develop Turkeys national economic andpolitical interests in the strongest possible manner,efforts will be made to take part in all the debatesand keep in close contact with political and decisionmaking bodies. Especially, between Turkey and US.To this end, this office will be dealing withAmerican political institutions, non-governmental

organizations, academic circles and the media. Itwill help the relevant circles in our country to bene-fit from its Washington experiences. TSAD willalso be present on international platforms that arenot focused directly in Turkish-American relations.In addition to all this, TSAD will try to create thenecessary conditions to improve and diversifyeconomic relations between the two countries.

All these efforts are very important for Turkeysfuture. By its location and by the very nature of itsinternational relations Turkey cannot be an

isolationist country for long. We also believe that thecurrent thaw in relations with Europe is temporary.We have long advocated a series of structural reformsto be undertaken in Turkey both in its economicstructures and its political system. We believe thatTurkey cannot afford to postpone these measuresforever. Exiting from the global order or reneging onTurkeys international commitments are not viableoptions for our country. In todays world, anydevelopment that leads to a return to the closedeconomy model of the past is untenable if notimpossible. Turkey will overcome its problems bybeing politically and economically an open society andby remaining an active participant in the global order.

TUSAD will keep on searching for new horizons,new opportunities and new relations as it defendsTurkeys interests through economic diplomacy infuture years.

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