Luxembourg Discusses Geopolitical Issues at Antalya Diplomacy Forum

On Monday 20 April 2026, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade reported that Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, participated in the fifth edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, which was held from Friday 17 to Sunday 19 April 2026 in Antalya, Turkey.

According to the ministry, the forum, held under the theme “Mapping Tomorrow, Managing Uncertainties”, was a high-level event which brought together Heads of State and Government, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, representatives of international institutions, academics, as well as representatives from the business community to discuss major regional and international geopolitical issues, particularly in the current context of the situation in the Middle East and the evolving international environment. Minister Bettel participated at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, Hakan Fidan.

The ministry reported that Minister Bettel took part in a roundtable on the theme “Europe’s Competitiveness in the Age of Uncertainties”, alongside Mihai Popșoi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova, Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Thomas Byrne, Minister for European Affairs of Ireland, and Mustafa Tuzcu, Deputy Minister of Trade of Turkey.

During this panel, Minister Bettel referred to the Letta and Draghi reports, highlighting that the authors identified the measures the EU must take to strengthen its competitiveness. The Luxembourg Minister for Foreign Affairs emphasised the importance of the single market and administrative simplification, noting that currently the EU is not fully exploiting its economic potential. At the same time, he stressed that European competitiveness can only be sustainable if it aligns with both environmental protection and the preservation of social achievements, by making the ecological transition, quality of employment and worker protection drivers of economic growth and social cohesion.

According to the ministry, Minister Bettel also used the opportunity of his participation in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum to hold several bilateral meetings, notably with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, Kosovo, Glauk Konjufca, Kazakhstan, Yermek Kosherbayev, Jordan, Ayman Safadi, Egypt, Badr Abdelatty, as well as with the Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the World Food Programme (WFP), Carl Skau.

The ministry said: “These various meetings provided an opportunity to address bilateral relations between Luxembourg and the respective countries, as well as current international issues.”