JAPANESE ACADEMICIANS’ VISIT TO ORSAM

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A round-table meeting was held with a delegation, composed of Japanese academicians, in ORSAM, on January 31st2011. The delegation, which was composed of Prof. Dr. Masanori Naaito from Doshisha University; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ken Miichi from Iwate University; Teruaki Moriyama from the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA); and Idris Danışmaz from Kyoto University, was welcomed by Hasan Kanbolat, ORSAM Director. In addition to Hasan Kanbolat, ORSAM Director,  Assoc. Prof. Tarık Oğuzlu from Bilkent University; Ogün Duru, ORSAM Managing Editor; Bilgay Duman, ORSAM Middle East Specialist; and Sercan Doğan and Nebahat Tanrıverdi, ORSAM Middle East Research Assistants took part in the meeting, which was held with the delegation.        
 
During the meeting, which lasted approximately for two hours, primarily the recent developments in Egypt and Tunisia were discussed. The Japanese delegation wanted to know the analyses of the ORSAM Specialists on these developments and a step ahead, and they asked questions on the reason why Turkey kept quiet about the situation in Egypt. Then, Turkey's policy on the Middle East became the main topic of the meeting. The Japanese delegation expanded the subject upon the “Neo-Ottomanism” discourses. At this point, the change and transformation of the Turkish foreign policy was mainly discussed, and certain factors playing role in this transformation were tried to be expressed. The Japanese guests asked questions about which of these factors were more efficient. In discussions where the relation between Turkey's national identity and European identity was analyzed, the Japanese guests expressed their opinions suggesting that EU accession period will get easier by highlighting Turkey's Middle Eastern and Muslim identity.
 
Another subject, which was handled during the meeting, was Turkey's relations with Central Asian countries. In this context, the Japanese guests were informed about the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), which provides an important organizational framework for the relations between Turkey and Central Asian countries, and also about the cooperation process within this organization.  
 Other issues, which were highlighted during the meeting, were the Israeli-Palestinian issue and the possibilities of Turkish-Japanese cooperation in Afghanistan. Stating that the Japanese government is willing to contribute to reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, the guests indicated that Japan allocated a 5-billion-dollar fund for Afghanistan but how this fund would be spent was not decided yet. In this context, opinions on Turkish-Japanese cooperation in Afghanistan were expressed. The Japanese stated they would not be able to send troops to Afghanistan and they expressed their concerns about security. And the meeting was concluded following the evaluation of exchange of views.

http://www.orsam.org.tr/en/enUploads/Activities/Files/20111219_2011210_toplantı (1).pdf