Foreign Ministry enters new digital era

The Foreign Ministry launched a public diplomacy initiative on Thursday to utilize digital technology for better interaction between the public and decision-makers.

The new system, coordinated by Deputy Undersecretary Namık Tan, will help Turkey explain its rising foreign policy through modern social networking systems such as Facebook and Twitter.

A group of officials led by Tan are working on various applicable models with the open support of Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. There is a need for extra personnel and funds in order to implement such a system in Turkey. 

The practice is quite common in the United Kingdom, the United States and Israel. Britain spends 424 million pounds, Israel spends $10 million and it is known that the United States puts aside more funds given the number of its diplomats. Tan said, "It will take time to adapt to the new systems" considering the ministry’s acquaintance with classical diplomatic methods. "Of course we cannot change everything overnight. There will be full force at a certain stage," he said. 

Tan highlighted that the public diplomacy brought a new vision to the implementation of foreign policy and made clear the digital system was an instrument beyond classical diplomatic practices. Davutoğlu is known to have assured his support for the capacity building, the establishment of stable personnel and the development of new methods. 

Foreign Ministry’s first teleconference

The first of a number of future public diplomacy activities was a press teleconference held at the Foreign Ministry on Thursday. Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, elected next director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, or OPCW, responded to questions from members of the press in Ankara from the Turkish Embassy in The Hague.

Ambassador Üzümcü, who was nominated by the Turkish government after an increasing diplomatic campaign and whose appointment was approved Wednesday, will assume office July 25 with a mandate extending until 2014. He will succeed Ambassador Rogelio Pfirter of Argentina following the completion of his second term as director-general, the maximum allowed under the relevant convention.

About the ministry's new initiative, Üzümcü said there were sometimes shortcomings in promoting Turkey's foreign activities abroad and congratulated the ministry staff for taking the initiative.