The Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will attend the Arab League summit in Cairo on Tuesday, Reuters reported. This marks the end of a 13 year absence and highlights Ankara’s efforts to normalise relations with regional neighbours after years of diplomatic tensions.
Fidan’s participation marks the first time since the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings that a Turkish foreign minister has been present at the Arab League summit. During those uprisings, Turkey found itself at odds with several of its neighbours, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Syria and Egypt, leading to a significant deterioration in relations.
Over the years, the Arab League has frequently criticised Turkey’s military actions in Syria, Libya and Somalia. However, Turkey has been working to rebuild diplomatic ties, and Fidan, who in 2020 as the then head of Turkish intelligence initiated a policy of normalisation, has played a key role in brokering agreements with the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia based on regional cooperation and trade.
Since becoming foreign minister last year, Fidan has continued these efforts, including seeking to improve relations with Syria, which regained full membership of the Arab League last year. A source familiar with the summit protocols told Middle East Eye that Syria’s consent, along with that of other member states, was required for Turkey’s participation. Despite recent unsuccessful normalisation talks, Syria appeared to accept Fidan’s presence at the summit.
Fidan’s inclusion in the summit was also facilitated by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s recent visit to Turkey, the first in 12 years, and Turkey’s ongoing diplomatic efforts, including meetings with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and various Arab ambassadors. As a result, the Arab League has dissolved its committee investigating “Turkey’s intervention in the internal affairs of Arab states” and dropped the related proposed topic from the summit agenda. For the first time in years, the 22-member league refrained from criticising Turkey in its summit declaration.
