Turkey's FM Hakan Fidan deepens ties in Singapore, South Korea

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made a two‑day diplomatic tour of the Asia‑Pacific, visiting Singapore on 2 June and South Korea on 3 June as part of Ankara's "Yeniden Asya Girişimi" (New Asia Initiative). In Singapore he met Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and other senior officials, discussing cooperation across economy, trade, investment, defence, digital transformation and regional security.

The next day in Seoul, Fidan met South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and addressed the 143rd International Policy Forum at Korea University. The talks focused on deepening the strategic partnership, expanding trade and investment, updating the free‑trade agreement, and exploring joint projects in defence (including tank and UAV programmes), energy, AI, biotech and other high‑tech sectors. Multilateral issues such as the Russia‑Ukraine war, the situations in Syria, Palestine and broader regional stability were also on the agenda. The visits signal Turkey's intention to raise its profile and economic‑defence links in the Asia‑Pacific region.