Turkey Eyes Indonesia and ASEAN, Targeting Energy and Mineral Cooperation

Turkey is increasingly serious about strengthening its position in Southeast Asia by seeking status as a Full Dialogue Partner of ASEAN. This effort was marked by the inaugural ASEAN-Turkiye Forum in Jakarta, which brought together policymakers, academics, diplomats, and experts from both regions to discuss strengthening strategic cooperation. Turkey’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and ASEAN, Talip Kucukcan, stated that the forum is a manifestation of Turkey and ASEAN’s commitment to building a long-term partnership. According to him, the ASEAN-Turkiye Forum is not merely a discussion platform but will be developed as a sustainable high-level dialogue mechanism. “The ASEAN-Turkiye Forum is a concrete manifestation of our institutional determination to build a shared strategic vision for the long term. We want this forum to become a sustainable dialogue mechanism in the years to come,” Kucukcan said in an official statement. Meanwhile, President of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), Tetsuya Watanabe, assessed that ASEAN and Turkey have complementary economic characteristics. ASEAN is one of the world’s economic growth centres, while Turkey holds a strategic position as a hub connecting Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Watanabe noted that this combination of strengths has the potential to generate significant benefits for both regions, ranging from increased prosperity and strengthened economic resilience to security stability amidst global dynamics. Similarly, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for the Economic Community, Satvinder Singh, said the ASEAN-Turkey relationship deserves greater strategic attention. He assessed that the partnership between the two sides needs to be developed so that it can become a pillar of stability amidst increasing global geopolitical and economic uncertainty. During the forum, participants also formulated a number of policy recommendations. One of them is deepening the institutional partnership between ASEAN and Turkey, including encouraging Ankara’s involvement in various regional mechanisms such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and strengthening its role as an observer in the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus). In addition, cooperation in the energy and critical minerals sector became a key focus. Participants encouraged synergy between Turkey’s position as an international energy transit hub and ASEAN’s growing energy market through technology transfer, joint research, and the development of a manufacturing ecosystem for strategic minerals. The forum also produced recommendations for strengthening cooperation in human resource development through digitalisation. The recommendations include the establishment of a Digital Skills Passport based on micro-credentials, the creation of a Digital Workforce Development Centre, and the annual convening of an ASEAN-Turkiye Youth Forum to strengthen collaboration in vocational education and digital talent development. The ASEAN-Turkiye Forum is part of Turkey’s diplomatic journey to upgrade its partnership status with ASEAN. Having joined the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) in 2010, accredited its Embassy to ASEAN in 2011, and obtained Sectoral Dialogue Partner status in 2017, Turkey officially applied to become a Full Dialogue Partner of ASEAN in 2024. Through this inaugural forum, Ankara hopes the process will gain further support while opening up broader cooperation opportunities, particularly in trade, energy, security, digitalisation, and critical minerals.