The key facts

  • Hakan Fidan proposed a global initiative to protect maritime chokepoints and prevent the 'weaponization' of critical infrastructure
  • He called the Black Sea 'an arena of military confrontation' and pointed to threats to trade, energy supplies and food security
  • Turkey is promoting the Middle Corridor, the Development Road project, as well as the Mecca Alliance and R4/R4-E4 formats

Initiative to protect maritime routes

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday, speaking at the TRT World Forum in Istanbul, called on the international community to consider establishing a global initiative dedicated to protecting maritime chokepoints and strengthening the resilience of international connectivity, Anadolu reports. According to him, the initiative should unite countries around preserving freedom of navigation, uninterrupted supplies of key goods, diversification of transport and energy corridors, and prioritizing diplomacy in responding to emerging threats.

Threats to trade and food security

Fidan warned that the concentration of global trade and energy flows on a limited number of routes creates structural vulnerabilities. 'The Black Sea is increasingly turning into an arena of military confrontation,' the minister said, noting that attacks on commercial vessels and shipping disruptions threaten the movement of critically important cargo, primarily grain. In his assessment, growing instability around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb also poses serious risks to international trade, energy supplies and food security.

Corridors and regional formats

As an alternative to excessive dependencies, Fidan cited the Middle Corridor, which connects Asia and Europe through the Caspian region and the South Caucasus, and the Development Road project, which links the Persian Gulf with Europe through Iraq and Turkey. He also presented regional mechanisms: the 'Mecca Defense Alliance' involving Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the R4 format (Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia) and R4-E4, which also includes France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. According to the minister, these formats do not compete with other instruments but expand the space for cooperation. He cited the Black Sea Grain Initiative as an example of diplomacy that works.

Context of the statements

Fidan emphasized that 'security is indivisible' and cannot be ensured at the expense of the security of others, and stated that 'Israel's expansionist policies, the ongoing aggression against neighboring countries and the genocide in Gaza' undermine regional stability — this assessment belongs to the Turkish minister and is reflected in his speech. The proposed initiative, in his formulation, should not become 'yet another exercise in building institutional structures for the sake of structures,' but should serve as a practical framework for collective action with measurable results.