Turkey and East Timor Presidents Travel to Seoul for Separate Summits
The back-to-back state visits signal South Korea's effort under President Lee Jae Myung to broaden its diplomatic network across two strategically distinct regions.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta will each travel to Seoul this week for separate summits with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, according to presidential spokesperson Kang Yun-hung, as reported by the Korea Times.
Erdogan is scheduled to arrive Monday and remain through Wednesday on a formal state visit. His summit with Lee is set for Tuesday, Kang confirmed. The Korea Times reported that the visit marks Erdogan's first state visit to South Korea, making it a notable moment in bilateral relations between Ankara and Seoul.
Turkey and South Korea share a historical connection rooted in the 1950-1953 Korean War, during which Turkey contributed the fourth-largest contingent of United Nations troops in support of South Korea. That legacy has long provided a foundation for bilateral engagement, though formal diplomatic and economic ties have developed more gradually over subsequent decades.
South Korea and Turkey are both members of the G20 and maintain a bilateral free trade agreement that entered into force in May 2013, according to the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Total bilateral trade between the two countries has grown in the years since, though the precise figures for 2025 and 2026 are not yet reflected in publicly available annual reports.
Ramos-Horta's visit is scheduled separately from Erdogan's, though the Korea Times report did not specify the exact dates of his arrival or the agenda items to be discussed. East Timor, formally known as Timor-Leste, gained independence in 2002 and has been pursuing membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). South Korea has maintained a development aid relationship with Timor-Leste through the Korea International Cooperation Agency, known as KOICA.
The timing of both visits in a single week points to an active diplomatic calendar for Lee, who took office following South Korea's 2025 presidential election. Lee has indicated an intent to strengthen multilateral ties and pursue a foreign policy that engages partners beyond the traditional framework of the South Korea-United States alliance and relations with neighboring Japan and China.
For Turkey, the Seoul summit arrives amid a period in which Erdogan has been actively expanding state visits across Asia. Turkey has pursued what its foreign ministry has described as a multidimensional foreign policy, seeking to position Ankara as a diplomatic actor in regions where it has historically had limited presence, including East Asia.
For South Korea, engagement with Turkey carries implications for defense industry cooperation. Turkey's defense procurement agency, the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), has previously engaged with South Korean defense manufacturers. South Korea's arms export sector, which includes companies such as Hanwha Aerospace and Korea Aerospace Industries, has grown substantially in recent years, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The agenda for Lee's summit with Erdogan had not been made public in full as of the Korea Times report dated November 1, 2026. What specific agreements, memoranda of understanding, or joint statements may emerge from either summit remains unknown pending official post-summit announcements from the South Korean presidential office, known as Cheong Wa Dae or, under its current designation, the presidential office in Yongsan.