Turkey has brilliantly managed to attract and lure in the Arabs by capitalizing on its ‘Soft Power.’ It has influenced and won over the Arab psyche by producing very successful TV dramas that won over the viewers’ hearts and presenting them with a dreamy image of Turkey.

So we are in Istanbul. I am Senior State Department Official on background discussing the ad hoc meeting with colleagues on Syria that the Secretary attended tonight on the margins of the counterterrorism forum tomorrow. The Secretary’s message to the group included three key elements along the lines of what she’s been saying throughout the week.

Turkey’s “Arab Spring” forays into Middle Eastern diplomacy, have drawn much attention on the international stage. Its launch into Africa, however, has gone little noticed by a world more focused on China’s involvement in the sub-Saharan region.

Turkey, a rapidly growing economy and multi-party democracy that has applied to join the European Union, is widely regarded as a model for Muslim and other developing countries. It has also raised the flag over trail blazing construction projects across former Soviet Central Asia and the Caucasus region.

These government contractors are on the frontline of a huge Turkish development effort in one of the world's most dangerous cities - one which U.N. agencies and international charities prefer to deal with from the safety of neighbouring Kenya.

A prominent Somali living and working in Mogadishu, for example, very enthusiastically told the author of this article that ‘Somalis love Turks and what they’re doing’. It is also noteworthy that its diplomatic efforts in Somalia presented Turkey with an important opportunity to illustrate its soft power in Africa.

Thriving on creative exchange and operating in non-traditional ways, Istanbul’74 hosts everything from cultural events, festivals, workshops, panel discussions, exhibitions and artistic collaborations which bring together the leading personalities in art, fashion, literature, film and design from all over the world.

It is also noteworthy that its diplomatic efforts in Somalia presented Turkey with an important opportunity to illustrate its soft power in Africa. It is certainly an indication of Turkey's foreign policy ambition to become a major economic and political player in Africa.