Türkiye’s view on developments in the Red Sea; Türkiye’s hope for the “development project” – the final part

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, as in the previous section It was mentioned that the important developments that happened after the Al-Aqsa storm in the world and the region have brought a series of new events. Internationally, the increase in the defense capacity of Yemen’s Ansarullah and the impact of their goals on the security area of ​​the Red Sea. and some experts in the field of transportation encourage the Erdogan government to use these conditions for the benefit of the Turkish business world.

In other words, Turkey is looking for it To achieve new economic opportunities in the new conditions that have arisen in the Red Sea and to gain huge profits in the world of goods and energy transit.

During the past days, The Greek media also added fuel to the fire of Turkey’s enthusiasm and claimed that now is a historic opportunity for Ankara to take revenge from the Ottoman era. It means the revenge of the same important event of the 19th century that caused the Suez Canal to become an important and strategic passage and the Silk Road lost its importance.

The Greeks say that even now We are at a sensitive time when Egypt as a loser and Turkey as a winner may be affected in some way by the consequences of the new regional tension.

Turkey seeks to shorten transit route

Alper Alper Ozel, Executive Director of UND International Transport Association says “The crisis in the Red Sea gives Turkey a new opportunity, but concrete steps have not been taken yet. Now that Western suppliers, affected by the difficult situation in the Red Sea, are increasingly turning to Turkish shipping, this could be an opportunity for Turkey. The Central Corridor is currently on the agenda as the rail corridor in the north was closed due to the war. There is no other crossing to go from the south. Since the international road passes through Turkey and we know the transport fleet of the region better, we are interested in working in this area. The Middle Corridor plan, which is considered on the Turkey-Caucasus-Caspian Sea-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan-China line, is now more interesting than ever. The arrival of goods from China to Turkey through this corridor will increase and road transport is a solution to this problem.” It has been stated in this way: “China’s willingness to send its containers by land is increasing. China passes its goods through the border of Kyrgyzstan or Kazakhstan, and from there it crosses the Caspian Sea, or these goods are sent to Turkmenistan through Uzbekistan or Kyrgyzstan. Then the goods come to Baku and go to Baku through Turkmenbashi port. We expect it to be stored here and then sent to Europe via Turkey”.

Pidast Ozel, like many other Turkish transport experts, is looking for optimism far from realism. It is to highlight Turkey’s role in an exaggerated way.

Meanwhile, Kazem Tayci, head of Istanbul Cereals, Legumes, Oilseeds and Products Exporters Association (IHBİR) says. : Due to the tense situation in the Red Sea, Europe has changed its direction towards Turkey and this trend will increase in the future. The process that we closely follow in the Red Sea has its positive and negative aspects. We still import our raw materials mainly from the Far East. On the negative side, the length of time to transport these products to our country has increased and the freight price has increased. But on the other hand, now Europe is slowly turning its transit route towards us and it will be more in the future. He pointed out that the Red Sea, one of the most important waterways in the world, became an “unstable” route with the attacks of the Zionist regime on Gaza. Due to this situation, hundreds of container ships going through the Red Sea to the Suez Canal are now adding another two weeks to their routes to go around the cape. According to freight booking company Freightos, the cost of shipping containers from China to the Mediterranean Sea has more than quadrupled since the end of November. Transport and Logistics Service Providers (UTİKAD) told TRT Haber: “The current crisis will directly affect many countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe that use the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal is an important route for the transportation of products that provide the entry of European industry, especially goods and energy from Asia and the Middle East to Europe. Global carmakers Volvo and Tesla recently announced that they were halting production at their European factories due to their inability to obtain component licenses from Asian suppliers. Also, British retailers Tesco and Marks & Spencer mentioned the risk of higher costs”.

According to Bilge Khan Engin, solving the crisis in the Red Sea will take time. The impact of trade disruptions will be felt throughout 2024 and will be more effective in the first half of the year. This will increase high inflationary pressures.

Engin says: “The Red Sea crisis involves great risks, but also opportunities for Turkey’s foreign trade and logistics sector. it has. Being located in important trade routes, our country has the potential to play a key role in East and West trade, and on the other hand, the delay in Asian orders leads to directing purchases to Istanbul and Ankara. The Central Corridor, which is an alternative to the Northern Corridor and the Southern Corridor, has an important place in the integration of China and Europe. The line, which stretches from Beijing to London, is at the heart of commercial traffic worth more than $600 billion annually. The Middle Corridor passes through Turkey and controls all strategic transit routes in Asia-Europe. This has made our country a key point in this project”.

According to the exporters, the Red Sea crisis made European companies pay more attention to Turkey after the New Year holidays and for Plan the first quarter of 2024.

According to Burak Onder, head of the EVSID exporters’ association, the increase in shipping due to the Red Sea crisis has reached 700%.

Onder said: “Turkey has road connections to 58 countries. During this period, the price of logistics from the Far East increased significantly. This will be an opportunity for us, but we have to make sure that it will be sustainable.” Yes, but it is limited to the first quarter. Europe solves its immediate needs with Turkey in every crisis period. But this is not permanent. We experienced the same situation during the corona epidemic”.

Turkey’s commercial and transportation experts are looking forward to the development of Ankara-Baghdad relations and the implementation of the contract connecting Basra to Mersin.

On the other hand, with the development and leasing of Gwadar port by China in 2015, the importance Iraq’s geopolitics increased even more. Because the Chinese goods that reach Gwadar, instead of crossing the Suez Canal and reaching Europe by sea, reach Europe in a short period of time at a much lower cost.

Also, the project The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which aims to connect the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China to the Persian Gulf via the ports of Gwadar and Karachi, passing through Pakistan in a northeast-southwest direction, is at the heart of the project.

The volume of highway, port and free zone construction projects carried out within the scope of the project until 2020 was more than 70 billion dollars. The aim of these projects is to turn Pakistan into a key logistics base for the transfer of Chinese manufactured products to the world. offers to the Strait of Malacca and because of the shorter distance, it makes a lot of savings. Also, 85% of China’s imported oil passes through this strait. Therefore, Gwadar port is of great importance as a part of the project that shortens the waterway in question. Officials, with a very optimistic view, consider the importance of Gwadar port and the connection of Basra to Turkey to be equal. To what extent is it possible to become an important transit power and actor?

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