On the third leg of their Regional Approach Field Study, Senior Course 117 visited Ankara and Istanbul (Türkiye) on 3-6 December. The visit started on Friday 3 December with the solemn wreath laying ceremony at the Ataturk Mausoleum. This was followed by and enjoyable and most impressive visit to the exhibition devoted to recent Turkish history and to the country’s “Founding Father”, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
The course members proceeded to the Turkish General Staff Academy for a morning session of briefings about the Turkish armed forces, foreign policy and economy.
The first speaker was Col Mehmet KARADAYI, who provided a broad overview of the Turkish Armed Forces. He illustrated defence and security policy, and the ways in which geopolitical factors influence Turkish security strategy. He also underlined the significant contribution of the Turkish armed forces to NATO and United Nations (UN) operations, and the crucial role of Türkiye in promoting and maintaining peace and stability in the region.
The second speaker from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs eloquently described Turkish Foreign Policy, highlighting the background and rationale. He stipulated that membership of the EU is a strategic goal for Türkiye, and underlined the significant role of energy security in Turkish foreign policy.
The subsequent briefing focused on the Turkish economy. A speaker from the Treasury Ministry provided detailed information concerning Türkiye’s gross domestic product (GDP), its demographic profile, and rate of inflation, unemployment and foreign trade.
After a Q&A session during which most questions focused on Türkiye’s relations with its neighbours, NDC Commandant Lieutenant General Wolf-Dieter LOESER thanked Lieutenant General Kanil BASOGLU, the Director of the Personnel Department, for his hospitality and support of the NATO Defense College.
After lunch, course members were hosted by Murad BAYER, the Undersecretary for Defence Industries in Turkish Ministry of Defence (MOD) and were briefed on Turkish defence procurement systems and the defence industry by Mr Lulti VAROGLU, the Head of the International Cooperation Department. He touched upon the major programmes and priorities of the Turkish defence industry and explained the procurement system of the equipment for the armed forces. The Senior Course ended the day with a much deeper knowledge of the possibilities and potential of the Turkish defence industry.
On Monday 6 December course members will begin the final stage of the Regional Approach Field Study on Turkish soil by visiting Istanbul, where they will be briefed on “Black Sea Economic Council” affairs by a lecturer from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Senior Course 117 is grateful to Türkiye for the wonderful hospitality and interesting programme of lectures and visits and is looking forward to the next stage of the FS with a visit to another Alliance partner, Bulgaria.
More about the Field Study:
Collège de Défense de l'OTAN 