Türkiye-Romania Relations: Peculiarities of Strategic Partnership (2011–2024)

Despite the growing importance of the bilateral dimension of Turkish-Romanian relations, limited attention has been paid to their study outside the context of the Balkan and/or Black Sea policies of these states, as well as NATO and EU's policy in the Black Sea region. This research is aimed at analyzing Türkiye-Romania relations comprehensively, taking into account the foreign policy framework of bilateral relations, the intensified military-diplomatic and military-technical cooperation, trade and economic, cultural and humanitarian interaction. The chronological framework of the article is conditioned by the fact that in 2011 the two parties signed the Declaration of Strategic Partnership, which elevated the status of Turkish-Romanian relations. In 2024, a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council was established for substantive discussion of medium and long-term projects, which might lead to further strengthening of cooperation between the states. From 2011 to 2020 Ankara and Bucharest primarily sought to develop close cooperation in the economic, investment and energy sectors. In addition, from the second half of the 2010s, Türkiye has to actively pursued its cultural and humanitarian influence in Romania. Since 2021, as tensions around the Ukrainian issue grew and it entered an acute phase, military-political ties between the two countries began to intensify, not only through NATO, but also by building bilateral military-technical cooperation and initiating their own multilateral agreements.

Türkiye, Turkey, Romania, Wider Black Sea region, NATO, Ukrainian crisis