Prime Minister Vajpayee’s visit to Turkey has not come a day too soon; and the precious few agreements signed only emphasise the potential of what is possible if we can only expand the horizon of our foreign policy beyond terrorism and Pakistan. This is not to say that setting up a Joint Working Group on terrorism with Turkey is not a step forward, but to emphasise the fact that much more is possible. Even in terrorism we would need to remember that what Turkey faces, or has faced in the past, is qualitatively and quantitatively different from the terrorism that we face here, except that in both countries the majority of the victims are Muslims.It is well recognised in the modern world that trade and economic relations actually provide the real underpinning to international relations, and that is why many countries have merged foreign and trade policies under one ministry. The reality that our bilateral trade with Turkey constitutes a mere 0.8 percent of Turkey’s total trade has to be seen in the context of the first trade agreement having been signed as far back as 1973. This may not be surprising when seen in the context of the bilateral Joint Economic Commission, set up in 1983, not having met even once in the over three years since the Turkish prime minister visited India!Facts would make us believe that the progress in bilateral relations has been slow and sporadic. This is understandable given the fact that in earlier decades Turkey was NATO’s frontline state in the Cold War military confrontation with the Soviet Union. In contrast, India’s non-aligned policy was readily misunderstood as one that sided with the eastern block. This had created a strategic disjunction in the perceptions and policies of the two nations, especially since Pakistan also appeared to be part of the western military alliance. But the Cold War dissipated long ago. What we need to make sure now is that a concerted effort to build on the current progress is made for a strong bilateral relationship that does not rely on convergence on any one issue, or get weighed down in relation to a third country.`
