Contemporary Issues in the Middle East: Japanese and Turkish Perspectives

3 minute reading time

A conference was held on 23 November, 2010, at Middle East Technical University in partnership with the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (known as ORSAM), The Middle East Research Institute of Japan (known as MERIJ) and the Middle East Technical University (known as METU) and the title of the conference was “Contemporary Issues in the Middle East: Japanese and Turkish Perspectives”. The conference started with the opening remarks of Mr. Nobuaki Tanaka, H.E Ambassador of Japan to Turkey, Prof. Dr. Meliha Benli Altunisik, Graduate School of Sciences Director and Assoc. Prof. Serhat Erkmen, ORSAM Middle East Advisor and Head of the International Relations Department of Ahi Evran University. Academicians, doctorate students and ORSAM staff participated in the conference.

In the opening session Prof. Dr. Masayuki Yamauchi, scholar at Tokyo University and Executive Director of MERIJ and Prof. Dr. Meliha Benli Altunisik, Director of Graduate School of Sciences at METU held the keynote speech on the topic “Prospect for Peace and Stability in the Middle East: Turkish and Japanese Engagement and Mutual Collaboration”. After those opening remarks, the first session was held under the title of “Regional Conflicts in the Middle East: Israel-Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan”. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nil S. Satana from International Relations Department of Bilkent University moderated the session in which Mr. Nobuaki Tanaka, H.E Ambassador of Japan to Turkey, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ozlem Tur from the International Relations Department of METU, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tarik Oguzlu from Bilkent University and Prof. Dr. Jun Furuya participated. Mr. Nobuaki, after sharing his consideration about the crisis in the Middle East, he pointed out how Japan can play a constructive role on these issues. Prof. Furuya explained the attitude of the United States of America on regard to regional crises and the influence of U.S. domestic politics on it. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ozlem Tur talked about the Israel-Palestine conflict and how these conflicts are related to regional dynamics. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tarik Oguzlu also mentioned regional crises and Turkey’s approach to these crises.

The title of the second session was “Iranian Nuclear Crisis: What Are the Prospects?”. Assoc.  Prof. Dr. Recep Boztemur, Chair of the Middle East Studies at METU, moderated this session. The first speech was from Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nobumasa Akiyama from the Hitotsubashi University, Japan, in which he mentioned the effects of the Iranian nuclear crisis on the region. According to Mr. Akiyama, the nuclear crisis may entail the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East and also an Iranian nuclear crisis is one of the biggest obstacles to nuclear disarmament of the Middle East. As a speaker of the second session, Ph.D Candidate Bayram Sinkaya approached the Iranian nuclear crisis from a regionally oriented political perspective and explained Turkey’s approach on that issue.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Akkemik moderated the third session and the title of the third session was “Economic Relations and Energy Issues”. The first speaker was Tadashi Maeda from Japan Bank for International Cooperation and made a presentation about the economic cooperation potential of Turkey, Japan and the Middle East, respectively, under the consideration of its future prospects. After him, Former Director of BOTAS Mete Goknel and NABUCCO Coordinator Osman Goksel discussed energy politics in general and Turkey’s position on energy transportation. Finally Assoc. Prof. Dr. Harun Ozturkler from the Economy Department of Afyon Kocatepe University evaluated Turkey’s energy politics and discussed the energy dependence problem.