The Development Road Project

Since the Industrial Revolution, railways scattered across the world have made vast land masses devoid of navigable rivers and sea coasts accessible to an unprecedented degree. The spatial revolution triggered by this act of making accessible can be considered as a continuation of the Geographical Discoveries.

Just as history can be constructed around competition on maritime trade routes, the same can be done following the rails. Indeed, among these rails are those that have witnessed the evolution of the Turkish nation. For example, it’s possible to see the Berlin-Baghdad Railway in every phase of our persistence in making Anatolia our homeland.

Roads To Basra

The Berlin-Baghdad Railway is a project that intensified competition between the British Empire, which had settled like bandits in the Persian Gulf, and the upstart German Empire seeking commercial markets and political colonies. Its main reasons are:

– According to the concession given by Abdulhamid II to Deutsche Bank for the construction of the railway, the Germans had the right to search for minerals in twenty-kilometer strips on both sides of the line. This concession meant German access to Iraq’s oil resources.

– The line, which was envisioned to connect to the port in Basra, was considered a threat by the British, who had secured all routes to the Indian colony, as it would both open the gulf to Germans and Turks and facilitate troop transport to Suez.

In summary, on the eve of World War I, the British approached this Turkish-German railway with extreme hostility due to concerns it would sever communication routes between Britain and India.

Looking at the history of the railway issue from a Turkish perspective, we see that building railways is not just a simple tool that quickly transports commercial goods from factory to market, but a business that has a say in the destiny of nations. Today we are witnessing a strange rhyme of this business: the Development Road.

An Interesting Rhyme

We are facing a railway line designed to reach from Faw Port, which started construction in Basra, to Ovaköy. We are a nation that knows firsthand through experience that intending to connect a Mediterranean state to the Persian Gulf causes major events. Therefore, we should follow what’s happening on this issue with this awareness and accurately predict what the Development Road will lead to today. Therefore, as a member of the noble Turkish nation, I would like to present some predictions that I am convinced of.

The Development Road will inevitably increase Turkey’s economic and political influence over Iraq. We can easily understand this at first glance by looking at the trade volume targets expressed by official sources and the exciting atmosphere reinforced in the country with the President’s visit to Iraq.

The Development Road will open another route for Turkey besides Suez and Gibraltar. Turkey will assume the title of a Gulf state alongside its title of a Mediterranean state. Our connection with countries to our east will be reinforced many times over. This situation will also bring Turkey face to face with Iran.

The Iran Factor

Let’s take two steps back and look at the map hanging before us and what has happened recently. We see that Turkey is making moves and presenting designs that serve the goal of having a say in the connection between the east and west of the Caspian. One of these is the Development Road as we mentioned, and another is the support given to Azerbaijan in the Second Karabakh War. Turkey and Azerbaijan are designing the Zangezur Corridor as a direct land connection.

The most crucial common point of these two projects is Iran. Iran, as a Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf state, is witnessing the laying of routes that exclude it between the east and west of the Caspian.

Relations seem inevitably bound to become tense with an Iran that has seized ships carrying Iraqi oil to Tüpraş off Oman’s coast and is blockading the Red Sea through Yemen. I think this inevitable conflict of interests puts the US’s statement of support for the project in a logical framework.

For Iraq, the project’s greatest importance is that the country will assume the title of Mediterranean state as it will gain access to Mersin Port. As Iran’s blockade policy in the Persian Gulf naturally strangles Iraq as well, Mediterranean coasts will be a breath of fresh air for the country.

Rival Project: IMEC

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor project, on which a memorandum of understanding was signed at the G20 meeting held in Delhi on September 9, 2023, is a trade route concept generally based on excluding Turkey, Egypt, and Iran from the Mediterranean.

Although the US has officially declared support for the Development Road, it is also a signatory to the mentioned memorandum of understanding. The United Arab Emirates shows a similar attitude. While the UAE’s Transport Minister discusses the Development Road with his Turkish counterpart [7], they also signed this project at the G20 meeting.

The recent Israel-Hamas conflict can be read as a result of the disputes related to these two trade routes.

While Iran has influence over Hamas and is a party to the conflict with the Gulf of Aden Blockade, Egypt has been resisting the sweeping of Palestinian Arabs into the Sinai Desert for months.

Conclusion

Let’s end the article by briefly touching on possible threats to the Development Road: Kurdish terrorism and Iran’s Shiite militias will certainly see benefits for themselves in sabotaging the line. To prevent such possible sabotage, Turkey may conduct a new military operation in Iraq. Projects like the Development Road create wide repercussions and can spark major conflicts. I sincerely hope this business leads to a place where our country’s security is reinforced, its trade and wealth increase, and its say in world politics becomes weightier. May Turkey’s fortune be bright.

References

[1] I recommend this book as one of the good studies examining the Berlin-Baghdad Railway: The Berlin-Baghdad Express The Ottoman Empire and Germany’s Bid for World Power, Sean McMeekin, Harvard University Press

[2] Focus will be on Zangezur and Development Road corridors in transportation this year | Anadolu Agency, January 7, 2024

[3] Why did Iran seize the ship carrying crude oil to Tüpraş? | BBC, January 12, 2024

[4] How Houthi Attacks Have Upended Global Shipping | NYT, January 21, 2024

[5] US: We support any effort that diversifies Iraq’s economy | Anadolu Agency, April 24, 2024

[6] Memorandum of Understanding on the Principles of an India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor | White House, September 9, 2023