Turkey's ADF diplomacy
- Turkey's deputy foreign minister attended ADF2026 meetings and posted highlights on the MFA's social channels. (x.com) - The posts show bilateral meetings without policy announcements, emphasizing engagement and dialogue. (x.com) - The messaging underscores Ankara's active regional diplomacy amid broader geopolitical tensions. (x.com) (x.com)
Turkey used the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on April 17-19 to showcase a packed schedule of bilateral meetings, with Deputy Foreign Minister Berris Ekinci highlighting talks rather than new policy announcements. (mfa.gov.tr) The Antalya Diplomacy Forum was the fifth edition of the event, held in Antalya under the theme “Mapping Tomorrow, Managing Uncertainties” and hosted by Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s auspices. (mfa.gov.tr) (antalyadf.org) Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry lists A. Berris Ekinci among its deputy ministers, and ministry-linked social posts from the forum focused on her side meetings and photo-op diplomacy during ADF2026. (mfa.gov.tr) (x.com 1) (x.com 2) That emphasis fit the forum’s stated purpose. The official ADF description says the gathering is built around panel discussions, interactive sessions and bilateral meetings meant to foster dialogue, restore trust and strengthen cooperation. (antalyadf.org) The scale of the event gave Ankara a large diplomatic stage. Anadolu Agency reported that more than 150 countries were represented, with over 20 heads of state and government, more than 50 ministers and nearly 5,000 attendees expected in Antalya. (aa.com.tr) Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s official schedule showed the same pattern at a higher level: meetings with counterparts from Austria, Ukraine, Russia, Qatar and Turkmenistan, plus sessions on Gaza, the Balkans, the Organization of Turkic States and a Türkiye-Egypt-Pakistan-Saudi Arabia format. (mfa.gov.tr) The backdrop was a region under strain. The forum’s own organizers described a world of geopolitical tensions, shifting power balances, trade barriers and pressure on multilateralism, while Euronews reported that Antalya talks unfolded amid a wider crisis around Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. (antalyadf.org) (euronews.com) In that setting, Ankara’s message was less about signing deals in public than about being in every room that mattered. Ekinci’s posts, like the ministry’s broader ADF rollout, presented Türkiye as an active convening power using dialogue and access as diplomatic currency. (x.com 1) (x.com 2) (mfa.gov.tr)
