In global competition, states progress through various stages.
Upon analysis of the global landscape, it is evident that the realm of competitive states is predominantly composed of G-20 nations. However, there are countries with limited capacities in both production and consumption, as well as those excluded from the competition due to their small scale. Additionally, some nations solely rely on the export of natural resources like oil and minerals, rendering them non-competitive on a global scale. On the other hand, oil-exporting countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia have gigantic income resources essentially based on oil. In the last 20 years, the natural gas market has become as important as the oil market.
The countries I want to highlight are those that have more industrial production with an established manufacturing infrastructure and have a certain balance between imports and exports. Türkiye is in this category now.
For a century, especially the last 50 years with their pronounced acceleration, technology, production and marketing predominantly resided within the domain of Western states. Subsequently, three additional countries joined the ranks of developed Western states: Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Notably, all these three states have strong ties with the United States and have benefited from American involvement and support in various capacities.
On the other hand, China, Mexico and Türkiye are the most important countries that have attracted attention in the last 20 years. These three countries have achieved their development and progress without or limitedly depending on Western states.
Türkiye has completed its advancement mainly in infrastructure and industrial development. It has built eco-systems in many infrastructural fields, from energy to logistics, including highways and associated infrastructure.
Türkiye’s trade infrastructure
States build these critical infrastructures principally for trade.
There is a significant bottleneck in Türkiye, where policy production and governance are predominantly centralized around President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Similarly, international trade is mainly left to the mentality of conventional merchants from Kayseri, a historical Anatolian “Kaiser” city renowned with its cunning traders.
However, Türkiye needs a major change. Türkiye has made significant progress in development over the last 20 years and has accumulated an extraordinary construction contracting infrastructure. Why is this infrastructure critical? While Western countries acquired it in a century, the Republic of Türkiye has accumulated it in the last 20 years. That’s why Türkiye has the world’s youngest construction machinery inventory, the most significant contractor experience and a massive infrastructure project backlog.
It is precisely in this period that a fundamental mentality change is required.
Türkiye has become remarkable in the defense industry with its growing product range, state-of-the-art technology and export of higher value-per-kilogram products.
In fact, we know that the private sector’s production efforts have found a prominent place in the international arena. But, there is now a need for a change of mindset in marketing at the state level.
Türkiye has an extensive population. The entire geographical network inherited from the Ottoman Empire can be leveraged against competing states with partnerships in defense industry products and marketing.
Expanding economic ventures abroad
In the relations that Türkiye has entered into, mainly in Africa and Asia, the state can now support the private sector to operate large mining and oil fields and to establish high-budget arrangements in different sectors.
In Africa, the state needs to adopt a position to develop the market for Turkish businesspersons, especially in the minerals, oil and precious rare metals mining industry. While such market development at the state level in the international arena is being conducted, instead of adopting a civil servant mentality for marketing efforts, the state should establish a model where large-scale projects are outsourced to 5-10 contractor companies, ensuring more efficient and effective implementation.
State energy company Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) needs to expand its partnerships and investments globally.
Another asset of Türkiye, which surpasses many developed countries, is its e-government applications. This suggests that Türkiye is poised to make significant strides in the software sector. It would be highly beneficial if the software developed by the state could be packed and marketed to other countries.
The Republic of Türkiye has completed its major infrastructure with great skill. Now, such radical advancement and organization should be repeated in international trade to be boosted by the state. One of Türkiye’s advantages in this regard is that it now has a visionary trade minister like Ömer Bolat, who knows the reality and sensitivities of the private sector. The state is expected to develop a new commercial model in Africa and Asia by utilizing its advanced level of sophistication in inter-state relations.
