While 2023 was initially welcomed in Türkiye with jubilation for her centennial anniversary, the year quickly witnessed a dramatic reshuffling of geopolitical dynamics and international power balances that would precipitate numerous crises around the world. Yet it was in this tempestuous environment that Türkiye’s geostrategic location and foreign policy would demonstrate just how important of a position she holds in the region. Inspired by the TurkishModel forDevelopment Cooperation, Türkiye harnessed the power of foreign aid, vital both for achieving sustainable peace and fostering regional development, to help her realize her centennial vision.
International aid was overshadowed by the numerous natural disasters, pandemics, regional wars, and other global humanitarian crises that characterized 2023. The efforts taken to respond to such large-scale issues necessitated a reevaluation of the existing relationship between donor and recipient countries and led to a call to develop of a new model for international aid. The inadequacies of the prevailing international aid paradigm and mechanisms used to respond to global crises were the impetus for this call to develop an entirely new approach to aid policies. The international system’s capacity to endure extreme pressure was further tested by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, all while the socioeconomic wounds caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic remained largely unhealed. The ensuing Russo–Ukrainian War triggered a food, energy supply, political, and military crisis whose reverberations would be felt worldwide and particularly in underdeveloped and developing nations, which, when combined with the lingering effects of the pandemic, greatly beleaguered the international aid system in 2023.
For her part, Türkiye adeptly maintained diplomatic relationship with both belligerent parties throughout the war, which would eventually earn her global recognition for her skillful navigation of the crisis. Türkiye’s strategic geopolitical position forced her to take steps toward bolstering regional and global security, a feat she achieved with remarkable success. Though institutionally integrated into the Western system, Türkiye has abstained from joining her Western counterparts in imposing unilateral sanctions on Russia, opting instead to follow a policy of principled neutrality that does not recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Türkiye’s efforts to act as a benevolent power continued unabated throughout 2023, spearheading initiatives to assist underdeveloped, primarily African countries that, despite not taking sides in the conflict, have suffered adverse effects from the ongoing war. Mediated by the UN, Türkiye’s efforts led to the signing of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July 2002, an agreement that enabled a total of thirty-three million metric tons of grains and other foodstuffs—including barley, wheat, soy, peas, corn, and sunflower oil—to be safely delivered to forty-five countries across three continents until Russia’s unilateral withdrawal on 18 July 2023. The grain shipments to Africa, the Middle East, and Asia helped alleviate the food crisis afflicting millions of people and, according to UN data, led to a twenty-percent decrease in global food prices. Following Russia’s withdrawal from the agreement, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan began engaging in one-to-one meetings in what has come to be dubbed leader diplomacy. These meetings would result in one million metric tons of grain being processed into flour and distributed at no cost to six African countries via Türkiye. In addition to helping alleviate the detrimental effects of the Russo–Ukraine crisis on vulnerable groups, these actions solidified Türkiye’s position as a proactive humanitarian actor adept at leveraging diplomacy to address a broad spectrum of humanitarian issues. Türkiye’s role in the Black Sea Grain Initiative can be considered a form of indirect aid.
Alongside diplomacy, such as the summits held in Antalya and Istanbul, Türkiye played an instrumental role in supporting the delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid in Ukraine. AFAD and TRC kitchens distributed free meals to thousands of people in need in Lviv, Borodyanka, and Chernihiv; the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) supported the restoration of universities and schools; and civil institutions coordinated with one another to ensure that an excess of 100 Turkish aid trucks reached Ukraine safely. Türkiye’s embassy in Ukraine performed above and beyond what was expected of her, acting as a disaster response hub, shelter for displaced individuals, soup kitchen, and logistics center.
The Türkiye–Syria earthquakes, one of the deadliest in modern history, were yet another incident that left its mark on 2023. The two earthquakes (Mw7.7 and 7.6, respectively) struck the districts of Pazarcık and Elbistan in Türkiye’s southeastern province of Kahramanmaraş on 6 February. An area of 108,812 km2 (67,613 sq mi) in Türkiye, encompassing eleven provinces, sixty-two districts, and 10,190 villages, was affected—not to mention the extensive damage that befell Syria. Nearly 11,500 professional search and rescue teams from ninety countries and various international organizations were joined by 270,000 civil servants, including an untold number of volunteers from Türkiye, in post-earthquake humanitarian operations. Türkiye employed her accumulated wealth of international humanitarian experience within her own borders this time around, spearheading post-disaster shelter, food provision, and healthcare initiatives.
The Türkiye–Syria earthquakes were important in Türkiye’s ability to adapt her international humanitarian experience to the domestic level. Within the first seventy-two hours, known as the golden hours, following the initial earthquake, numerous government-affiliated units and NGOs engaged in search and rescue operations, emergency medical services, and the provision of shelter, food, heating resources, and clothing. As such, eighteen thousand TRC personnel—of whom fourteen thousand were volunteers—took part in humanitarian operations across ten provinces. Five soup kitchens, 199 mobile kitchens, eighty-six distribution trucks, five mobile bakeries, and twenty-one field kitchens were deployed to help alleviate food shortages in the disaster zone. Collectively, these efforts resulted in the distribution of 5.6 million hot meals, 1.2 million bowls of soup, six million liters of water, 6.1 million loaves of bread, and 3.5 million items of assorted provisions were distributed to earthquake victims. IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation deployed a 3,359-person team who collectively delivered 6,959 boxes of water, 3,469 food packages, 9,765 hygiene kits, 2,169 boxes of various food items, 5,380 cans of food, and 1.4 metric tons of potatoes to the earthquake zone. Various NGOs and state institutions, including TÜGVA, the Ensar Foundation, Beşir Association, Ahbap, the Turkish Bakers Federation, and Deniz Feneri, channeled their resources into relief efforts to mitigate devastating effects of the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe as much as possible.
The year was mired by deadly conflicts and disasters across the globe. The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces that erupted on 15 April 2023 impacted millions of civilians. While several diplomatic missions evacuated the country, Turkish NGOs and the Nyala Turkish Hospital continued to provide food and medicine assistance to the public. Elsewhere, in Morocco, a devastating Mw6.8 earthquake struck the Atlas Mountains on 8 September, claiming over three thousand lives. In response, AFAD, TRC, the Türkiye Diyanet Foundation, IHH, and other organizations immediately initiated search and rescue operations and provided temporary housing for the surviving victims. Then, a mere two days later on 10 September, Cyclone Daniel hit Libya’s east coast, precipitating a new humanitarian crisis that would embroil large swaths of North Africa. Resulting floods caused the death of roughly 11,300 people. The first humanitarian aid to Libya was delivered through the Turkish Ministry of National Defense. A team of 360 personnel made up of members from AFAD, AKUT Search and Rescue Association, Türkiye’s Ministry of Health, the Turkish Coast Guard, and firefighting brigades was transported to the crisis area aboard the Turkish Navy’s TCG Sancaktar and TCG Bayraktar ships. A total of 122 ambulances and rapid intervention vehicles along with three field hospitals and food, shelter, and sanitation supplies were dispatched to support the team’s humanitarian efforts in the area.
The Middle East was the epicenter of the world’s most profound humanitarian crisis of 2023. Israel’s ongoing assault of the Gaza Strip in Occupied Palestine has left the entire area’s healthcare infrastructure in complete ruin and 2.3 million people starving and without access to clean water. As the time of writing, more than thirty-nine thousand Palestinians—roughly sixty percent women and children—have been mercilessly killed in Gaza by Israeli forces since 7 October. The World Health Organization has reported that one child is killed every ten minutes, describing this situation as “humanity’s darkest hour.” Hamas and Israel agreed to a four-day tragically ironic humanitarian pause on 24 November, which concluded on Friday 1 December after having been extended by three days. Israel has continued its inhumane assault on the Gaza Strip and her mostly civilian inhabitants unabated until the time of writing this article since then.
The prisoner exchange deal that took place during the so-called humanitarian pause led to the release of eighty-one Israeli prisoners from the Gaza Strip and 240 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons. The two hundred aid trucks and four fuel tankers allowed entrance into the strip during the pause were some of the rare aid to reach since the beginning of Israel’s 7 October aerial and land-based bombardment that, as the International Court of Justice has opined, plausibly amount to the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza. For her part, Türkiye has provided supplies to build shipping container cities, mobile bakeries, and field hospitals to help meet the water, food, and shelter needs of the Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s ongoing illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip has, however, acted as a major impediment to the entrance of vital humanitarian aid. Türkiye has also continued to take diplomatic steps toward a lasting peace in support of the two-state solution based on 1967 borders.
While Official Development Aid statistics for 2023 have yet to be published, the amount of international aid donated by Türkiye is projected to exhibit a downward trend. Türkiye was, however, among the most generous donors of aid from 2017 to 2021. Official Develop Aid rose from 0.04% of Türkiye’s GDP in 2003 to 0.54% in 2015 and then 1.14% in 2020. This figure fell to 0.96% in 2021, second only to Luxembourg’s 0.99% and still significantly higher than the UN’s 0.7% goal. The costs associated with the Türkiye–Syria earthquakes, however, caused the normal flow of international aid to be redirected inward.
In summary, 2023 not only witnessed the deepening of humanitarian crises but, according to UN figures, was also the first year since 2010 to experience a decline in global humanitarian aid donations. The UN managed to collect only thirty-five percent of its $56.7 billion appeal for the year. Given that the economic cost of major disasters in the first half of 2023 alone totaled $195 billion across twenty-five countries, the extent to which UN humanitarian expenditures can effectively address humanitarian crises around the world is debatable.
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