Türkiye in the G20: a guide for Model G20 delegates

If you are assigned Türkiye at a Model G20, you speak for one of the G20's 19 member countries, which sit alongside the European Union and the African Union. Türkiye was at the first G20 meeting in 1999, hosted the leaders in 2015 and is due to host the UN climate conference, COP31, in November 2026. This guide reflects official sources as of mid-October 2026.

At a glance

• Name (2021): a Presidential Circular of 4 December 2021 asks for "Türkiye" instead of "Turkey" in official relations.
• System (since 2018): a presidential system, adopted by referendum in 2017. The President is head of state and government; there is no prime minister. The capital is Ankara.
• Leader (2023): President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in office since 2014 and re-elected on 28 May 2023 with 52.18 percent of the vote.
• People (2025): about 85.9 million (World Bank).
• Economy (2025): GDP of about US$1.60 trillion, or US$18,599 per person (World Bank).
• G20 presidency (2015): the Antalya Summit, 15 to 16 November 2015.
• Groupings: NATO member since 1952, OECD founding member (1961), EU candidate since 1999.

Türkiye's G20 story

Türkiye's finance minister and central bank governor attended the G20's "inaugural meeting" in Berlin in December 1999. Its presidency began on 1 December 2014 with the theme "Collective Action for Inclusive and Robust Growth". The then Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, summed it up as "the three I's of the Turkish Presidency: Inclusiveness, Implementation, and Investment for Growth." Its main outcomes:

• Investment. Leaders "developed ambitious country-specific investment strategies" and agreed the Antalya Action Plan of adjusted growth strategies and implementation schedules.
• Jobs. A goal of "reducing the share of young people who are most at risk of being permanently left behind in the labour market by 15% by 2025".
• Firsts and food. The first G20 Energy Ministers meeting (Istanbul, 2 October 2015), a new Women 20 (W20) engagement group and the "G20 Action Plan on Food Security and Sustainable Food Systems".
• Terrorism. A statement condemning the attacks "in Paris on 13 November and in Ankara on 10 October" and saying terrorism "cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group."

Türkiye's presidential office quotes the host: "The G20 is not a club of the rich." No future Turkish presidency has been announced. The 2023 New Delhi Declaration appreciates "the efforts of Türkiye and UN-brokered Istanbul Agreements" and the Black Sea Initiative.

What Türkiye wants from the G20

These are the Turkish government's positions, not shared by every member.

• Fairer debt treatment. At Johannesburg in 2025 Erdoğan backed "fair, equal treatment during debt restructuring processes, especially for low-income countries". He says Türkiye contributed to debt restructurings for Ghana and Ethiopia under the G20 Common Framework.
• Trade rules that help development. He urged members to reaffirm "the principle of special and differential treatment under the World Trade Organization." Before the 2026 Milwaukee trade meeting, Anadolu Agency reported that Trade Minister Ömer Bolat would "convey Türkiye's priorities and concerns regarding proposed changes to the international trading system" at a meeting whose agenda included "the future of the most-favored-nation (MFN) principle".
• Reform of global institutions. At the UN in September 2026 Erdoğan said "the world is bigger than five", meaning the Security Council's permanent members. In 2024 he called for financial institutions with "a more democratic, more representative, transparent, and accountable structure."
• Climate action, with finance. Türkiye aims for net zero by 2053. Its 2035 target caps emissions at 643 million tons of CO2 equivalent, 466 million tons below "the reference scenario". Erdoğan says "access to international finance and cooperation in technology are indispensable." The ministry says Türkiye continues its efforts in line with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal; Climate Action Tracker rates its action "Critically insufficient".

Alliances and groupings

• NATO: a member since 18 February 1952. Ankara hosted the 2026 NATO summit.
• OECD: a founding member in 1961.
• European Union (candidate, not member): in a customs union since 1995, a candidate since 1999 and in accession talks since 2005. The European Commission says the EU judged in 2018 that talks had "effectively come at a standstill", and links eight chapters to Türkiye applying a protocol "to Cyprus".
• MIKTA: with Mexico, Indonesia, Korea and Australia, a group that speaks of its "bridging role between developed and developing countries".
• Others: the Organization of Turkic States, the D-8 and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation; admitted as an SCO dialogue partner in 2012. Reuters reported in 2024 that Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said Türkiye was offered BRICS partner status; we found no confirmation that it accepted.

Türkiye and India

India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) says "There are historical connections between India and Türkiye," recalling Dr M.A. Ansari's medical mission in 1912. Erdoğan made a state visit to India in 2017 and came to the New Delhi Summit in 2023, where he met Prime Minister Modi and congratulated India "on its successful term presidency". After the February 2023 earthquakes, India's Operation Dost was, in the MEA's words, "among the earliest foreign help to arrive in Türkiye".

Trade fell from US$13.80 billion in FY 2022-23 to US$6.88 billion in FY 2025-26. The MEA brief gives no cause. In April 2026 the foreign ministries held their first consultations since 2022, covering trade, energy and "the fight against cross-border terrorism".

In September 2026 Erdoğan told the UN that disputes "including the Kashmir issue" should be addressed "through dialogue within the framework of the United Nations Charter and of relevant resolutions." India's MEA spokesperson replied that this is "a matter pertaining to India's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and no external party has any locus standi on this issue." In August 2026 Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a Joint Defence Agreement, which Erdoğan says targets no country. Quote each side in its own words.

Recent developments

The G20 in 2026. Türkiye attended the first sherpa meeting of the US presidency (December 2025) and the Houston energy ministerial (September 2026). In Milwaukee, Bolat says, Türkiye joined members of the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity in adopting a joint action framework.

COP31. Antalya will host COP31 from 9 to 20 November 2026, with Environment Minister Murat Kurum as President-Designate, while Australia's Chris Bowen leads the negotiations. Türkiye's emissions trading system regulation entered into force on 28 August 2026.

The economy. The central bank reported annual inflation of 31.51 percent in August 2026 and held its policy rate at 37 percent in September 2026. Anadolu reports the central bank's view that the war in the region, which Al Jazeera calls "the United States and Israel's war on Iran", added around 7 percentage points to inflation.

Representing Türkiye at a Model G20

• Likely allies. By reasoning: MIKTA partners; developing members and the African Union, whose G20 entry Erdoğan says had "Türkiye's strong support", on debt and trade rules; and the EU on trade, after Bolat stressed "preserving deep economic integration with the bloc".
• Likely red lines. Also by reasoning: wording that weakens special and differential treatment, and climate targets without finance and technology. Türkiye has voiced concern about proposed changes to the trading system, so handle any change to the most-favoured-nation principle with care. On Gaza, Erdoğan has spoken of "the genocide in Gaza", a word recent G20 declarations do not use; Rio's text spoke of a "catastrophic humanitarian situation". Push for strong wording that can still win consensus.
• How to phrase positions. Use Antalya's language of inclusiveness, implementation and investment, and play the mediator: on Ukraine, Erdoğan said in November 2025 that "there would be no losers in a fair peace."
• Documents to quote. The Antalya Communiqué and terrorism statement (16 November 2015), the New Delhi Declaration (2023), the Johannesburg Declaration (2025), which pledges to reform the Security Council, and Türkiye's 2035 climate target (2025).

What to do next

Build your brief with how to write a Model G20 position paper and how a G20 leaders' declaration is agreed, then read the G20 Sherpa Track and Finance Track explained and the 2026 G20 presidency explained.

Model G20 is One Young India's simulation of the G20 summit for students, held as a three-day residential summit at FLAME University.