Türkiye has transformed from a regional power into a global actor during the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) 25-year political journey, the party’s deputy chair, Efkan Ala, said as the ruling party prepares to mark the anniversary of its founding.
Speaking to Ihlas News Agency (IHA), Ala said Türkiye’s foreign policy had shifted from what he described as a largely passive approach before the AK Party came to power to one based on active diplomacy backed by growing economic and defense capabilities.
“With the AK Party, this evolved into an active foreign policy,” Ala said. “Türkiye became a global actor through its achievements in the defense industry and economy and through reforms that strengthened both politics and institutions.”
Ala pointed to Türkiye’s growing domestic defense industry, saying the country now manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles and other systems that it previously struggled to procure from abroad. Türkiye has also emerged among the world’s defense exporters, he added.
He cited Ankara’s involvement in developments in Syria and Karabakh, as well as its diplomatic efforts surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war, as examples of Türkiye’s expanding international role.
