Turkish President Erdogan’s visit to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan was primarily aimed at strengthening cooperation and aligning shared strategic interests. Since August 2019, Türkiye has been redefining its priorities in Asia through its Asia Anew initiative, seeking to reassert its multidimensional foreign policy in an increasingly complex and multipolar world. The timing of Erdogan’s Asia tour is particularly significant, as global humanitarian concerns like the Palestine issue remain unresolved, and the world order faces new challenges, especially the return of Trump to power in the US.

In recent decades, modern Türkiye-especially under the “Asia Anew” initiative-has primarily viewed Asia through a trade and economic lens. However, President Erdogan’s recent tour highlighted that Türkiye’s engagement with the region extends beyond commerce, encompassing strategic, defense, and cultural dimensions that offer far greater significance than trade alone.

It is obvious that President Erdogan’s visits to three major Asian nations-Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pakistan-highlight his widespread popularity in the region. While Türkiye has strong economic and strategic ties with these countries, Erdogan’s appeal goes beyond material interests. His leadership is seen as a symbol of emotional ownership and commitment to global issues. Many Muslim-majority and humanitarian-oriented nations view Erdogan as their representative, especially due to his vocal stance on conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Arakan’s Rohingya people, Libya, Qatar, or even in Azerbaijan, Somalia, or Ukraine. In contrast to many global leaders, Erdogan’s........

© The Frontier Post (Editorial)