BEIRUT: More Lebanese have a positive view of Turkey than of Lebanon, according to findings by a Turkish think tank, unveiled in Beirut Tuesday.
Some 71 percent of Lebanese surveyed had a positive opinion of Turkey and thought it could act as a “model” for development and governance, the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation said.
The report did not mention the percentage of Lebanese who held positive opinions of Lebanon, but the think tank asserted that it was lower than the 71 percent figure.
This compares with 76 percent of Jordanian respondents, 77 percent of Palestinian and 75 of Syrians, who all approved of Turkey more than their home state, “The Perceptions of Turkey in the Middle East 2010,” report said.
“The positive perception is not a surprise,” Turkish Ambassador to Lebanon Inan Ozyildiz told The Daily Star.
“For a few years we have had popular relations and not just the popular aspects of watching Turkish TV series’ but also, since the reciprocal removal of the visas, we have had many Lebanese coming to Istanbul and many Turks coming here.”
The figures coincide with overall trends, which have seen affirmative perceptions of Turkey rise across the Arab world, from 75 percent in July 2009 to 80 percent by September 2010, with 66 percent of respondents saying Turkey provided a useful model, the report said.
Discussed at a Carnegie Middle East Center event, “Turkey’s Relations with the Changing Arab World,” the survey also found that Turkey’s “democratic regime” was the primary reason for Lebanon’s desire for emulation.
This differs to other Arab countries, which approve of Turkey largely because of its support for the Palestinian cause, or its Muslim background.
But the newfound closeness, which has emerged over the last decade, may be short-lived, several experts warned.
“Turkey’s relations with the Arab world have probably already peaked,” said Rami Khoury, director of the American University Beirut’s Issam Fares Center.
The recent Arab uprisings have allowed “truly sovereign self-determinant, self-respecting Arab states” with sovereign foreign policies to emerge for the first time, limiting Turkey’s scope for influence, he added.
Additionally, conflicts between “The Turkey Project,” which promotes change, and with autocratic models backed by the “Iranian Project,” with which it is “in acute competition,” could cause tension between the two present-day allies, said prominent Turkish journalist Paul Salem.
This may impact relations between Lebanon and Turkey, as over 70 percent of Lebanese surveyed by TESEV believe Iran should exercise greater influence in the Middle East.
Regardless of the potential for rifts, an average of 78 percent regionally wanted Turkey to play a greater role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
A clear majority also continued to support Turkey’s EU membership bid.
Lebanon remained the most ardent supporter of Turkey’s accession, with 72 percent and 64 percent of Lebanese viewing it favorably in 2009 and 2010 respectively and almost 70 percent feeling they had much to gain, in contrast to 57 percent regionally.
“Lebanon is different from the other Arab countries and shares similar economic ideology and vision with Turkey,” said Ozyildiz. “We both have liberal economies … liberal infrastructure and legislation.
“Lebanon understands the efforts of Turkey to becoming an EU member … and knows it will be one of the indirect beneficiaries of membership,” Ozyildiz added.