In a step in line with the new Turkish foreign policies that are characterized by rapprochement and problem-solving, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decision to appoint 13 new ambassadors, as it was remarkable to appoint two new ambassadors in the UAE and Iraq.

These appointments complement previous appointments more than a month ago, as Erdogan appointed new ambassadors in the United States of America, Japan and some Arab countries.

Turkey has a wide diplomatic network that includes 138 embassies, 13 permanent representatives, 86 consulates and trade offices, and is the fifth in the world in terms of the number of representations abroad, with a total of 239, and officials say that these numbers indicate Turkey's awareness of the importance of diplomatic work.

The new changes included the appointment of Togay Tuncer as a new Turkish ambassador to the UAE, instead of the previous ambassador, Jan Desdar, who was appointed years ago with the Syrian file in the Turkish Foreign Ministry, and Ali Reza Günay was appointed as a new ambassador to Iraq instead of Fatih Yildiz, who was withdrawn to Ankara.

Turkey's ambassador to Baghdad: Ali Reza Gunay

Gunay worked as a consul for Turkey in Toronto, Italy, and held the duties of Chargé d'Affairs at the Turkish Embassy in Cairo in 2016, then in 2019 he assumed the position of Assistant Director-General for Relations with Iraq at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador Gunay is considered an expert in the affairs of the PKK, which is classified as a terrorist, which the Turkish army has been fighting for nearly 30 years and is based in the Qandil Mountain in northern Iraq as its headquarters and the starting point for its operations against Turkish interests.

Gunay said that the PKK file has always been a stumbling block to strengthening Turkish-Iraqi relations, calling on "friends in Iraq to work together to eliminate the terrorist organization that poses a threat to the security of the two countries."

Turkey's ambassador to Abu Dhabi: Togay Tuncer

Tuncer held the position of Head of the Human Resources Department at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was also the Deputy Director-General of the US Department in the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs before his assignment to be ambassador to the Emirates.

The Turkish newspaper, Hurriyet, said, "Given the role that the United States played in breaking the ice between the Emirates and Israel, it can be said that the US plan to create a new game in the region was taken into account when Ambassador Tuncer was appointed in Abu Dhabi as he was serving as the Deputy Director General of the Department. American in the Turkish Foreign Ministry. "

The Turkish-Emirati relations are still experiencing a state of tension and attraction, in light of an ongoing media war between the two countries, with Ankara's condition that Abu Dhabi stop interfering in its internal affairs and support parties hostile to it in Syria, Libya, Greece and others.

After the Gulf reconciliation, last January, the Turkish president said that his country is ready to revive relations with all Gulf states, describing them as strategic relations.

The former UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs at the time, Anwar Gargash, also said that Turkey was the country's first commercial partner, and that the latter did not bear any hostility to Ankara.

Other appointments

Other appointments signed by Erdoan included the appointment of Cahit Bagcı as ambassador to Azerbaijan instead of Erkan Oz Ural, and the appointment of Turkey's ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Cengiz Camil Furat, as ambassador to the state of Bologna instead of Tahseen Tung Ugul, while Ahmet Sadiq Dogan was appointed ambassador to Kyrgyzstan.

Ali Saeed was appointed as ambassador to Myanmar instead of Haider Karam Divanoglu, Sibel Erkan as ambassador to Sierra Leone instead of Deha Erk, Burak Akjbar was appointed ambassador to Spain, Nilgun Erdem Ari as ambassador to Burkina Faso, Furat Sunil as ambassador to India, and Muhammad Mounes as ambassador to Derek .

Erdogan also appointed Umar Kucuk as ambassador to Italy instead of Murat Salim Esenal, and Sarab Ersub was appointed as ambassador to Thailand.


These appointments come to complete previous appointments more than a month ago, as Erdogan appointed new ambassadors in America, Japan, Ireland and Serbia.

Previous appointments included many Arab countries, as Kenan Yilmaz was appointed as ambassador to Libya, Ali Olusoy as ambassador to Lebanon, Fateh Ulusoy as ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Chaglar Chakir Alp as ambassador to Tunisia, Mustafa Bulat as ambassador to Yemen, Adnan Kitschigi as ambassador to Morocco, and Essen Chakil Ambassador in Bahrain.

The Turkish ambassador to Japan and the founding leader of the Justice and Development Party, Hasan Murad Marjan, was appointed ambassador to the United States of America, where he studied his doctorate.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşolu while addressing the Turkish Ambassadors Conference in the capital, Ankara (Anatolia)

A new foreign policy

In the context, Dr. Mahmoud Al-Rantisi, a researcher specializing in foreign policy at the Sita Center for Studies in Ankara, stated that Turkey is constantly working to activate its diplomatic work by continuing to feed its diplomatic missions with more competencies capable of dealing with a highly changing international environment, in a manner that guarantees Turkey its vital interests.

Al-Rantisi told Al-Jazeera Net, "Given the capitals in which the new Turkish ambassadors are staying in the Middle East region, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Manama, Baghdad, Sana’a and Beirut are on a date with new ambassadors, whose arrival brought expectations of easing the tension that has overwhelmed relations in the past three years, this is with an attempt To play a bigger and important role in calming the relationship, coordinating and engineering cooperation projects. "

He pointed out that Turkey has given a higher degree of institutionalization and official diplomatic contact with the US administration, with the presence of an important number of files in which satisfactory solutions must be reached, while seeking to prevent any crises with the United States that may weaken the Turkish position.

On the new diplomatic appointments, the Turkish writer Ugur Erkan said in an article that the new appointments were preceded by preparations since last December as a kind of Turkey's preparation for a new vision in particular, and that took place in countries experiencing tensions in their relations with Turkey or facing internal difficulties.

The appointment of the two new ambassadors to the UAE and Iraq is an indication of the importance Turkey attaches to the region.