Republic of Turkey Joins ECLAC as a Member State

The Republic of Turkey officially became a Member State of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) at a ceremony held this Friday, September 29, in the Patio de las Banderas of the UN regional organization’s headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

The event was presided by Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, and Naciye Gökçen Kaya, the Republic of Turkey’s Ambassador to Chile. Also in attendance were representatives of the diplomatic corps stationed in Chile, as well as national authorities and officials from international organizations.

“Today we officially welcome the Republic of Turkey as a Member State of ECLAC. This symbolic act does nothing more than confirm the close relations between Turkey and Latin America and the Caribbean,” underscored Alicia Bárcena, who recalled the request for admission expressed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his visit to the Commission on February 1, 2016 in the context of his tour through Chile, Peru and Ecuador.

Regardless of being located in different hemispheres, Turkey and the region share challenges in key areas like migration, income inequality, urbanization and climate change, Bárcena contended.

These challenges must be addressed multilaterally, she added, with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as the framework and in the context of the values enshrined in the United Nations Charter, which include peace, justice, respect for human rights, tolerance and solidarity.

In this sense, Bárcena recalled the words of the founder of the Turkish republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who indicated that: "Mankind is a single body and each nation is a part of that body."

Ambassador Naciye Gökçen Kaya assured that “Turkey has sustained a strategy of openness toward Latin America and the Caribbean for more than a decade.” She added that, “we have the firm will to deepen our ties with each and every one of the countries in the region.”

During her remarks, the representative of Turkey’s government listed the concrete efforts deployed by her country to get closer to the region, including the expansion of its diplomatic network and the establishment and strengthening of institutional ties with different organizations and regional cooperation blocs.

According to ECLAC’s data, trade between Turkey and Latin America has multiplied tenfold, going from around $1 billion dollars in 2000 to nearly $10 billion in 2014.

Turkey has a free trade agreement (FTA) with Chile and is in the process of negotiating similar treaties with Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, informed the Ambassador, who announced the organization of an economic conference at the end of 2017 or in 2018 in Istanbul for the purpose of exploring new ties to strengthen economic relations with Latin America and the Caribbean.

Following the request for admission expressed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Republic of Turkey’s incorporation into ECLAC was recommended by the Commission’s Committee of the Whole at its 32nd session on January 30, 2017 in New York, and later officially approved by the UN Economic and Social Council on July 25 of this year.

Turkey thus became the 46th Member State of ECLAC; the organization also has another 13 associate members to promote economic, social and environmental development in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.