When the Italian referee Daniele Orsato blew his whistle to start the match between the host country Qatar and Ecuador at Al-Bayt Stadium last Sunday evening, the FIFA World Cup for 2022 officially kicked off. After that whistle, Qatar was a different place than I had seen it a day before.

In the past few months, several developments have taken place between Turkiye and Southeast Asian nations that are worth exploring, especially at a time when regional and global powers are seeking to enhance their relations with countries in that part of the world.

Amid security issues related to the Ukraine crisis, Afghanistan, Middle Eastern conflicts and US-China rivalry, relations between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council have taken on a security component that is not clearly defined.