The announcement of a two-day working visit by President Volodymyr Zelensky to Turkey was shared publicly on Oct. 15, just one day before his flight to Istanbul.
But the content and results of the working visit show that this visit had been planned long ago, down to the last detail.
With this historic visit, the two countries have become closer than ever in the economy, trade, defense, and security. Detailing the results took 15 news items on the Ukrainian president’s official website! The developments make it clear that this was the most comprehensive and successful visit by a Ukrainian president to Turkey.
This month, Zelensky started his marathon of summits and visits with the European Union summit in Brussels. He continued it by signing a free trade agreement with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London. He then hosted Polish President Andrzej Duda in Odesa, where they jointly chaired the Ukrainian-Polish Economic Forum. He completed this whirlwind of activity with a two-day working visit in Turkey, all before Ukraine’s nationwide local elections on Oct. 25.
This 10-day marathon helped us understand the political and economic priorities of Ukraine. Issues such as cooperation in energy, free trade, security, defense, mutual investments in construction and infrastructure, as well as customs, came to the forefront.
Construction firms
When the host President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected as prime minister in 2002, reconstruction of the transportation infrastructure of Turkey rose to the top of his priorities.
Since then, on average, 1,500–2,000 kilometers of divided highways have been constructed in Turkey along with toll roads. The improvements, which make daily life better, have also increased public support for the government. Today, the transportation infrastructure of Turkey, mainly highways of supreme quality, immediately attracts the attention of guests who come from abroad, including our Ukrainian friends.
After being elected in 2019, Zelensky made the renovation of stale and worn infrastructure his top priority, just like Erdogan did. This makes it possible for the Ukrainian leader to have a direct impact on the daily life of people. The infrastructure required for Ukraine to reach higher growth rates needs to be provided. This project, called the Big Construction, is ambitious.
The results of the first year are quite promising. Renovation and reconstruction of more than 4,000 kilometers of roads will be completed by the end of the year. For next year, the infrastructure budget of $5.5 billion and with a reconstruction goal of 7,000 kilometers of roads has been set.
In the meeting between the two presidents, Zelensky thanked Turkish construction companies, including Onur and Ozaltın, for their contributions to the improvement of the Ukrainian infrastructure.
Zelensky indicated that Ukraine wants to see more Turkish companies in his country and also invited them for the infrastructure projects conducted through public-private partnerships.
Turkey has conducted 200 such projects — including bridges, tollways, airports, and ports — worth $150 billion in the last 15 years. Turkey is one of the leading countries in the world in this field.
Turkey’s support
Turkey expresses, on every platform and all occasions, its support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Zelensky, in an interview he made immediately before the visit with Sonat Kerem, the Kyiv correspondent of Demiroren News Agency, declared that unconditional support of Turkey for the Ukrainian state and its territorial integrity at the most difficult times, will not be forgotten in Ukraine for generations.
During his visit, Zelensky awarded Erdogan the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, the highest state order in Ukraine, for his contribution to the development of relations between two countries and his staunch support for Ukraine. In his thank-you speech, Erdogan reminded that Turkey has not recognized and will never recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea and he expressed Turkey’s support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Defense cooperation
At the visit, it was decided to hold a joint meeting at least once a year among the foreign and defense ministers of both countries. Thereby, a corporate mechanism has been established for political and security issues between Turkey and Ukraine, including the enhancement of military and technical cooperation, as well as the development of joint projects. Turkey is the only country in the region with which Ukraine has relations in such form.
Furthermore, Turkey has welcomed the Crimea Platform initiative formed by Ukraine and has expressed again Turkey’s support for the NATO membership perspective of Ukraine.
Also, a goodwill agreement has been signed to launch and implement joint projects for the development of antiaircraft systems, manufacturing of corvette-type battle ships, unmanned aerial vehicles and aircraft engines.
Just like their economies, Ukraine and Turkey are not competitors, but rather complementary countries. Therefore, cooperation in the defense industry has great potential for both countries.
Free trade agreement
Regardless of the depth and strength of political relations between the countries, they must be supported by commercial and economic integration. Otherwise, sustainability is at risk.
Foreign trade between Turkey and Ukraine peaked at $8 billion in 2008, but sits in the range of $5 billion annually today. To reach the $10 billion goal set by both presidents, the Turkish Ukrainian Free Trade Agreement needs to be concluded as soon as possible after years of negotiation.
Energy cooperation
With 405 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves discovered by Turkey in the Black Sea in recent months, Zelensky is seeking closer cooperation between the two countries in the energy sector.
Both countries are net importers of energy. They attach importance to independence and security in energy, for their economies, as well as their national securities. They have set as a strategy to produce energy from local sources and to provide diversification in the supply of energy. We know that Turkish companies, which are among the largest foreign investors in Ukraine in 2020, have invested more than $300 million in the production of energy from renewable energy sources in Ukraine. In the forthcoming period, we may witness an increase in energy investments by Turkish companies in Ukraine and the realization of joint projects by Turkish and Ukrainian companies.
Next meeting in 2021
With the agreements signed during this visit, new opportunities have emerged in trade, investment, energy, and infrastructure. Furthermore, considering $60 billion in privatization in the last 20 years in Turkey, our firms have acquired the expertise to help Ukraine’s privatization drive.
We have gotten used to nice and beautiful surprises during meetings of the leaders of Turkey and Ukraine. One of the nice surprises of this visit was a phone conversation between Erdogan and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which almost turned into a trilateral meeting with the participation of Zelensky.
These two nations are ready for a deeper strategic partnership. The visit has also established a magnificent foundation for the 9th High-Level Strategic Council Meeting, planned to be held at the beginning of 2021 in Istanbul. The potential is so high that every visit could become a historic one. We are hopeful that, besides new surprises, the signing of the free trade agreement will be waiting for us at the Istanbul summit next year.
Burak Pehlivan is the chairman of the Turkish Ukrainian Business Association.
