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Türkiye has been accepted as a Dialogue Partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations following a decision by ASEAN foreign ministers in Manila, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced Tuesday.
The decision was adopted on July 21 during the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, held in the Philippine capital from July 18 to 23.
Fidan said the development represented another significant result of Türkiye’s multidimensional foreign policy under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Türkiye has been accepted as an ASEAN Dialogue Partner by the decision taken by ASEAN foreign ministers in Manila,” Fidan said in a social media statement.
He said Türkiye had reached the highest ASEAN external partnership status after membership, a position previously granted to only 11 states.
Fidan thanked the foreign ministers who supported Türkiye’s application, the Philippines as ASEAN’s current chair, and the ASEAN Secretariat.
Türkiye formally applied for Dialogue Partner status in 2024.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry welcomed the decision, describing it as an important milestone in relations between Türkiye and ASEAN.
“We express our gratitude to the Philippines, the current Chair of ASEAN, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the member states for their resolve in adopting this important decision,” the ministry said.
It said Türkiye would further develop strategic cooperation with ASEAN on the basis of mutual benefit and shared prosperity.
“Türkiye, guided by the strategic vision of its Asia Anew Initiative, will resolutely continue to deepen its institutional cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region,” the statement said.
Fidan said the new status would strengthen Türkiye’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region, advance its long-term strategy toward ASEAN and support the completion of existing projects.
Türkiye established formal relations with ASEAN in 2010 by joining the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.
It became a Sectoral Dialogue Partner in 2017 and later applied to upgrade that status.
At the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur in October 2025, hosted by then-chair Malaysia, member states agreed in principle to grant Türkiye Dialogue Partner status. Formal approval was tied to the completion of ASEAN’s decision on a moratorium covering new dialogue partnerships.
Fidan said Türkiye had expanded cooperation with ASEAN countries across several fields since 2010, while bilateral trade increased from $6.5 billion to about $16 billion.
Official figures show trade between Türkiye and ASEAN reached $16.12 billion in 2025. Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore were among Türkiye’s leading regional trade partners.
ASEAN has a population of about 690 million and an economy valued at approximately $3.95 trillion. Fidan referred to the bloc as a region of nearly 700 million people with an economy exceeding $4 trillion.
Türkiye and ASEAN also cooperate through projects involving agriculture, women’s economic empowerment, disaster management, humanitarian mine action, maritime affairs, sustainable development, newborn health, science and technology.
Türkiye aims to expand its relations with ASEAN and its members through trade, investment, structured political dialogue, development cooperation, and academic and cultural exchanges.
Dialogue Partnership is ASEAN’s most comprehensive institutional relationship with countries and international organizations that are not members of the bloc.
The status does not grant membership or voting rights but allows partners to participate regularly in summits and senior-level consultation meetings.
It also provides broader and more permanent access to regional platforms including the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum.
The upgrade from Sectoral Dialogue Partner to Dialogue Partner is expected to deepen project-based relations through institutional cooperation and consultation mechanisms, increase Türkiye’s participation in regional political and security platforms and strengthen its strategic capacity in Asia.
Türkiye joins the European Union, the U.S., Canada, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom among ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners.
ASEAN was founded in 1967 to institutionalize dialogue among Southeast Asian countries, promote economic, social and cultural development and support regional peace and stability.
Its founding members were the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. Brunei joined in 1984, Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Myanmar in 1997, Cambodia in 1999 and Timor-Leste in 2025, bringing membership to 11.
ASEAN’s highest-level decisions are taken at summits held twice a year.
Türkiye considers ASEAN a key partner under its Asia Anew Initiative and approaches relations with the organization from a long-term strategic perspective.
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