Turkey in Asia: the scope of Ankara’s opening to East Asia

Ankara has initiated an opening initiative to East Asia since the beginning of 2000s. With the help of Turkey’s increasing GDP and foreign trade, Turkish public & private institutions, companies, and humanitarian aid organizations have become more visible in Asia. Turkey also opened new embassies and representatives of state-endorsed institutions. Ankara recently named a new foreign policy approach in August 2019: the Asia Anew initiative. The new initiative aims to improve ties with East Asian countries in different regions that would include cooperation in education, the defense industry, investments, trade, technology, culture, and political dialogue. While the initiative was welcomed by many, it also created a wave of surprise, merely due to Turkey's traditional stance that almost always faces towards the Western world. This article aims to analyze Turkey’s opening to East Asia in the 2000s in terms of political, economic, and institutional aspects.