In 2012, Mexico was the first emerging economy to lead the G20. So Turkey is not first. But those out there with unhealthy “first time ever” obsessions, can take solace in Turkey being the first Muslim-majority country to chair the G20. Here is one “first time ever” for you. No one says it out loud, but I can see it in their eyes – everybody is following Turkey with great interest for this reason, if not any other. Turkey is the first Muslim-majority nation to lead the G20 process. See, I said it again. That makes 2015 important.
Secondly, the Turkish Presidency also happens to be at a time when there are major upheavals in the Muslim world. So it is timely. Look where the Arab Spring of 2010 is today. Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Bahrain and Egypt all represent different angles of the same problem. If the 20th century was about the integration of China into the global economy, the 21st will be about the integration of the Muslim world. And we are just getting started.
Thirdly, the Chinese Presidency will follow the 2015 Turkish G20 Presidency in 2016. 1907 Japan defeated Russia in 1907, in the first-ever Asian victory over Europe. Its reverberations were felt as wide as the Ottoman Empire at the time, both in Istanbul and Cairo. A Chinese friend of mine was vehemently recounting the issue recently. “You know 1907 was not the first Asian victory over Europe” he was saying, “You, Turks had the first one ever.” He was talking about 1071, at the battle of Manzikert. “Turks defeated Byzantium. Asia triumphant over Europe for the first time ever,” he said.
The Turkish G20 presidency encapsulates its objectives in the three “I’s”: inclusiveness, investment and implementation. I was asked whether a fourth one could be added: identity. Yes and no, if you ask me. No, as it technically isn’t a G20 issue. Because global inequalities, global governance issues and global economic difficulties cut across barriers of identity. No matter how you define it, there is one big civilization on this blue planet of ours, and that is a technical civilization. I do not see any difference between a Christian, Moslem, Jewish or a Hindu doctor. They all have to adhere to the same practice when cutting someone open. It is the same for an engineer constructing a bridge, or running a nuclear power plant. There cannot be a Buddhist version of nuclear physics.
Why are there only three “I’s” the Turkish G20 presidency? Because the fourth one is silent.
This commentary was published in Hurriyet Daily News on 24.01.2015
