Türkiye to join Three Seas Initiative as strategic partner

WARSAW

Türkiye is set to join the Three Seas Initiative as a strategic partner, aligning itself with an ambitious geopolitical and economic platform encompassing countries situated between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas, Polish President Andrzej Duda has announced.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the 10th Three Seas Initiative Summit in Warsaw, Duda declared that Montenegro and Albania will officially join the Three Seas Initiative as associated participating states.

“Türkiye and Spain will join us as strategic partners. This is great news," he said.

Launched in 2015 by Poland and Croatia with support from the European Union, the Three Seas Initiative aims to strengthen infrastructure links among Central and Eastern European countries — particularly in energy, transport and digital sectors — along a north-south axis.

Duda noted the importance of this year’s summit given the current geopolitical climate and the ongoing war in Ukraine, stating, “I believe the involvement of these new partners will enhance the effectiveness of our cooperation.”

The main session of the summit, attended by heads of state and government, will be held on April 29 at Warsaw’s Royal Castle, with the participation of a total of 23 delegations, including 12 presidents.

Officials from non-European countries, including the United States, Japan and Arab nations, also attended.

Türkiye was represented at the summit by Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu.

The initiative originally brought together 12 EU member states — Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia — all geographically located between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas.

In 2023, Greece also joined the bloc. Ukraine and Moldova are associate members.

Currently, the initiative includes 143 priority projects addressing gaps in transport, energy and digital infrastructure.

Central and Eastern European countries still face significant investment needs compared to Western Europe, with estimated funding requirements reaching 290 billion euros ($310 billion) for transport, 88 billion euros for energy and 160 billion euros for telecommunications by 2030.

Türkiye is also involved in Via Carpatia, one of the initiative’s key projects — a highway corridor that begins at Lithuania’s Klaipeda Port and runs through Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, extending to Greece and ultimately to Istanbul.

Türkiye’s growing role in the initiative is expected to contribute to regional stability — particularly in the Black Sea basin — and to enhance economic cooperation and connectivity.

The list of current strategic partners includes the U.S., Japan, Germany and the European Commission.