Globalization fosters culture of excessive consumption: Turkish parliament speaker

By Aynur Ekiz and Yusuf Izzettin Celebi

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AA) - Globalization fosters a culture of excessive consumption, the speaker of Türkiye's parliament cautioned on Thursday.

While globalization has had a hand in many of humanity's achievements, many of its consequences have also been negative, Mustafa Sentop said during his address at the G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

Sentop accused some multinational corporations of using the financial power in an attempt to seize some of the essential economic functions and authorities of states.

This has eroded the notion of citizenship and undermined social contracts between states and their citizens -- and as a result, democracy, Sentop detailed, adding that many people have sought refuge in populist movements.

He also highlighted the negative and positive impacts of modern technology on democracy and noted that these must also be thoroughly understood.

For instance, while social media platforms are important communication channels for civil society and liberty, they also present opportunities for radical ideologies to promote themselves, Sentop said.

A lack of proper control on social media poses thus poses threat to democracy, he added.

At the event, Sentop met with several of his counterparts on the sidelines.

During a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart Sahibe Gafarova, Sentop urged Armenia to stop its provocations against Baku and to focus on regional cooperation.

In a separate meeting with Olena Kondratiuk, the deputy speaker of Ukraine's legislature, Sentop underscored the importance Türkiye attaches to the territorial integrity of Ukraine and vowed that Ankara's support for Ukraine would continue.

He also met with Puan Maharani, the speaker of the Indonesia's lower house of parliament, the House of Representatives. Sentop stressed that Jakarta and Ankara were pillars of stability in their respective regions.

Türkiye aspires to further improve its cooperation with Indonesia, he added.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk in Ankara