ИСТИНА

Turkey is strategically positioned at the crossroads of Europe and Asia and is considered an important geopolitical actor in the global arena. Since Turkey embraced neoliberal economic policies in the late 1980s it has emerged as one of the leading emerging economies with major trade links with the U.S, Russia, EU and Asia. Turkey has been a long withstanding member of the NATO alliance and signed the European Customs Union agreement 1995. With the advent of Asia as the global economic powerhouse, Turkey's foreign and economic policy horizons today extend to the Asia- Pacific Region. Turkey plays a key role in China’s Belt and Road Initiative and with the launching of the Asia Anew Initiative in late 2019, Ankara has redoubled efforts to forge closer ties with the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and with ASEAN itself. This paper will explore and evaluate Turkey’s foreign policy which currently focusses on developing stronger economic, political, and cultural links between Turkey and Asia.