Are you aware of the foreign visits Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made while he was Prime Minister and President?

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made hundreds of foreign visits during both his time as Prime Minister and as President. Listing all these trips individually would create a massive archive, so below you can find a chronological overview of the first and most critical symbolic visits, the most visited countries, and the highlighted diplomatic trips that marked each year for both periods.

1. Prime Ministership (2003 – 2014)

During his term as Prime Minister, he made over 300 trips to more than 80 countries. European countries took the top spot during this period due to the EU membership process and bilateral relations.

Highlights Chronological Flow

• 2003 (First Visits): As Prime Minister, his first official foreign trips were traditionally to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and then to Azerbaijan. That same year, he conducted intensive diplomatic activity to EU capitals (Greece, Germany, France, etc.). * 2004: A busy foreign policy period began in January with a trip to the USA (Washington, New York, Boston). This was followed by visits to Japan, South Korea, and Afghanistan (Kabul).
• 2005: In addition to a historically significant trip to Russia (Moscow), trips were made to South Africa, Israel and Palestine (Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ramallah), Mongolia, and Australia and New Zealand.
• 2007: As part of the Africa initiative, a visit to Ethiopia and trips to Syria (Aleppo) and Saudi Arabia for the balance of power in the Middle East stood out.
• 2009 – 2010: Trips were made to USA, Brazil, and Canada within the scope of the G20 summits. A trip to Libya was undertaken.
• 2011: A historic North Africa Tour was undertaken during the Arab Spring, encompassing trips to Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya.
• 2012: A historic official visit to the People’s Republic of China, including the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Urumqi), attracted attention.

Prime Minister’s Period Summary: The most visited countries were Germany, Belgium (Brussels/EU contacts), USA, Syria (before 2011), and Saudi Arabia.

2nd Presidential Term (2014 – 2026)

Having assumed the presidency on August 28, 2014, Erdoğan has maintained a busy travel schedule due to his multipolar foreign policy strategy, UN General Assemblies, G20, NATO, and Turkic States Organization summits.

Highlights Chronological Flow

• September 2014: First Presidential Visits
  Following the traditional line, he made his first official trips as president to Northern Cyprus and Azerbaijan. Immediately afterwards, he attended the NATO Summit in Wales and the 69th UN General Assembly in New York.
• 2015 – 2016: Africa Initiative and Latin America Tour
  At the beginning of 2015, he embarked on an East African tour encompassing Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Somalia. In early 2016, he undertook trips to Latin America, including Chile, Peru, and Ecuador.
• 2017 – 2019: Gulf Routes and Intensive Russian Diplomacy
  During the period of Gulf tensions, shuttle diplomacy was conducted with Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Due to developments in the Syrian arena (Astana process), Russia (Moscow and Sochi) became the most frequently visited country during these years.
• 2021 – 2023: Post-Pandemic Global Summits
  With the resumption of face-to-face diplomacy after the pandemic, visits were made to the USA (UN General Assemblies), Italy (G20), Lithuania (NATO), and, as part of historic normalization steps, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

** * 2025 – 2026: Final Period of Turkic World and G20 Summits
**In the fall of 2025, the US (UN 80th General Assembly), Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and the G20 Summit in South Africa were visited. In the first half of 2026, the Turkic States Organization Summit was held in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, and most recently in May in Kazakhstan.

Presidential Term Statistics Summary

The general distribution of countries most frequently visited at the leadership level and the summit points during the presidency are as follows:

| 5-10 Visits | Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Germany | NATO/EU Summits, Gulf Normalization, Diaspora Relations |

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