The strategic relations between Turkey
and Serbia
is an important case of how a century of negative peace could transform via
economic cooperation and development.
By Dr. Doga Ulas Eralp
Turkey
and Serbia
have emerged as two important partners that transform political tensions in the
Western Balkans for good. During a recent visit to Turkey, Serbian president, Tomislav
Nikolic, told his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, that the trade volume
between the two countries should exceed the $1b mark.  It is really
encouraging to see the extent of positive change in bilateral relations over
the past few years. There are three main pillars of the strategic partnership
between the two countries: economic , political and cultural.
On the economic front, trade volume between the two countries reached an
impressive $550m, making the relationship one of the most critical in the
Western Balkans. Turkish business representatives are interested in investing
in a number of infrastructure projects in Serbia
that would connect Southern Serbia closer with
the rest of the South East Europe. For example, in Spring 2012 the Turkish
government signed a deal with the government of Serbia,
donating €10m for the reconstruction and expansion of the military airport in
Kraljevo for civilian purposes, which would serve around 2 million people in
central Serbia.
This deal is one of the many recent positive developments between Serbia and Turkey that would have an impact on
investment, trade and movement of people between the two countries.
Turkish companies are already involved in  reconstruction and renovation
of Corridor 10, which runs between Belgrade, the
Sanjak region and the Adriatic. Turkey and Serbia have a lot to gain from
further cooperation in energy transportation, such as South Stream. Turkey’s approval of the South Stream pipeline
route through its maritime waters has boosted Serbia’s
potential as an energy hub serving Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Politically, the two have been cooperating very closely ever since the
start of the trilateral consultation mechanism between Serbia, BiH and Turkey. Former Serbian president,
Boris Tadic, took courageous steps in correcting Serbia’s relationship with
Bosnia-Herzegovina by attending the Srebrenica commemoration, as well as
facilitating the Serbian parliament’s apology. It is equally important that
president Nikolic is committed to a vision of political  reconciliation
between the sister republics of former Yugoslavia. Nikolic’s announcement
of an upcoming trilateral consultation meeting with BiH and Turkey in May can be seen as Serbia’s
commitment to durable peace in the region.
Serbia
is striving to modernize and diversify its economy by attracting foreign direct
investment from diverse countries such as Qatar,
United Arab Emirates and China as the
Eurozone economies continue to stagnate. The Serbian government seems to have
come to terms with the fact that separating politics from economy could only
work in its favor in the long run. Serbia’s
improving political relations with Turkey also helps to attract more
investment interest from the Gulf countries.
Culturally, Turkey
and Serbia
have been going through a period of getting to know each other a little bit
better. It turns out that these societies share similar values about the role
of the family, respect to elders and nostalgia. The success of Turkish TV
series in Serbia
– as in other Balkan countries – underscores a shared cultural space to which
young audiences can relate. The growing interest in Turkish language courses in
Serbia
is a clear indication that the two countries are actually closer than more than
meets the eye.
Perpetual peace envisions deepening of economic, political and cultural
connections between societies. Strategic relations between Turkey and Serbia are an important case of how
a century of negative peace could transform via economic cooperation and
development. It would not be surprising to expect an economically confident Serbia that
contributes to regional peace and prosperity in the coming decade.
Dr. Doga Ulas Eralp teaches
at the Program on Justice and Peace at Georgetown University.

TransConflict