SOCIETY 367 / 2015

DIPLOMATIE
TÜRKEI
»By the year
2023 Turkey
wants to become
one of
the top ten
economies of
the world.
«
Hasan
Gögüs
You have been posted to Austria in
2013. What do you enjoy most in
this country?
I really enjoy music, for example
the works of your famous composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
I like visiting concerts in Vienna’s Musikverein. I
enjoy playing tennis. I would also like to find the
time to ski, which I learned while I was posted to
Geneva. Unfortunately, my schedule is so tight
that I have not managed to do that yet.
How was your diplomatic career before Austria?
Actually I decided to be a diplomat in university
because I liked the challenge to pass the very
competitive diplomacy exam. I have travelled all
European countries and I have also been to several
Asian countries. I was Ambassador in India and
accreditted to Nepal, Maldives and Sri Lanka. In
India I have lived the longest time: six and a half
years I have been there. The country has developed
increasingly. I was also ambassador in Greece.
What is the historical, cultural and political
significance of the Silk Road for Turkey in the
past and present?
Throughout the history, trade routes have always
been important, playing a significant role
in spreading cultures and cross-continent civilisations.
The Silk Road had particular importance and
served as a significant bridge between eastern and
western civilisations for centuries. The Silk Road
emerged as a transport and trade route linking Asia
and Europe, the two major civilisations, i.e. China
and the Roman Empire, then the Seljuks and the
Ottoman Empire. Goods and commodities, as well
as cultural features and ideas were exchanged between
the two continents via this route. In this exchange,
wool, gold and silver were sent to the East,
and in turn, silk and spices to the West.
Besides silk trade, the Silk Road enabled the
trade of a wide range of goods indigenous to the
Far East. In addition to Islam and Buddhism, a vast
variety of religions and cultural elements such as
Christianity, Taoism, and Zoroastrianism found
new geographies to spread to with this route. Western
people learned about eastern religions, and the
people of the east learned about western religions.
The Southern Gate, which is the largest gate
of the Chinese city of Xian, is believed to be the
starting point of the Historic Silk Road. The Road
followed the Great Wall of China to the northwest,
went past the Taklamakan Desert and over the
Pamir Mountains. Caravans of travellers with their
cargo made the trek along this road and across Afghanistan
to the Eastern Mediterranean. Here, the
goods would be loaded onto ships and transported
to western cities via sea routes.
The discovery of the ocean routes pursued by
explorers such as Columbus, Magellan and Vasco
de Gama initiated a new era. The Silk Road lost its
significance following the discovery of these new
routes.
What are the plans regarding the re-establishment
of the Silk Road as a trade link between
Asia and Europe?
In 2013, the President of the People’s Republic
of China, H.E. Xi Jinping proposed the “Silk Road
Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Sea Silk
Road” (One Belt, One Road) initiatives. This project
aims to create a giant integrated infrastructure and
trade network connecting Asia and Europe.
4.4 billion people live in the developing countries
along the “Silk Road Economic Belt”, which
envisages the development of an infrastructure
project, worth approximately eight trillion Dollars
in the Asia Pacific region in the next decade.
The Chinese Government is currently drafting
a road map for the “One Belt, One Road” project,
according to which the city of Lianyungang in ➢
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