A very promising and original economy of Turkey is experiencing a period of prosperity. Experts call it a real miracle, which began in the 2000s with the proclamation of a new economic course. And it was necessary to start not from the strongest positions, against the backdrop of the 2001-2002 crisis. To illustrate, here is just a telling indicator: Turkey imported almost twice as many goods as it exported, and a large foreign trade deficit was recorded. Then, Ankara clearly marked the direction of the national economy towards the free market.
The main driving force was the development of industrial potential, construction and tourism
During the first years in power, the government led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan stabilized inflation from 45% in 2003 to 7.5% in 2013. To achieve this result, a monetary reform was carried out in 2004-2005. Inflation fell, which strengthened the Turkish lira.
The main driving force was the development of industrial potential, construction and tourism. Turkey’s GDP started to grow by more than 5% per year, that’s when citizens noticed how quickly the country was getting prettier. If in 2003 GDP was at the level of 303 billion dollars, then in 2013 it was already 820 billion, the increase was phenomenal – 2.7 times. Free economic zones have been opened in Türkiye. Companies that produce more than 85 percent of their goods for export, the state has provided powerful preferences.
The authorities actively invested in the development of infrastructure, attracted foreign capital to the country. Recep Erdogan’s initiatives strengthened control over the national monetary policy, the inertial administrative system began to work like clockwork. An important role in this has been played by reducing the resources of the bureaucracy. The export gamble continued even after Erdogan was elected President of Turkey in 2014.
Today, Turkish products are considered attractive in the world market, even taking into account logistics costs, although imports still exceed exports. Economists attribute this to continued dependence on energy. All necessary measures are taken in this direction. The Turkish Parliament has launched the procedure for modifying the legislation, necessary for the start of the operation of the international gas hub. With the launch of the hub, business activities will significantly accelerate and simplify. According to the Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Fatih Donmez, after the start of the gas trading center, “prices will go down, which is important for Europe”, while “Turkey will become the one of the markets which determine the gas reference price.”
Recall that the possibility of creating a gas hub in Turkey was announced in October 2022 by the President of Russia during a meeting with the leader of the Republic of Turkey. According to Vladimir Putin, the new gas hub can become a platform for determining the price of blue fuel, which will exclude politicization of this issue.
Thanks to investments in energy diversification and good relations with its neighbors from which it imports natural gas, Turkey has become the third cheapest country in Europe, writes the Sabah newspaper.
Over the past 20 years, Turkey’s military-industrial complex has grown significantly. The government intends to increase the total budget of the country’s defense industry companies to $75 billion. “The number of projects in the defense industry increased from 62 to 750, the number of enterprises – from 56 to 2700. When we came to power (in 2002), defense projects worth 5.5 billion dollars were implemented. Today, this figure has exceeded 60 billion dollars. And then, taking into account the projects that are at the tender stage, we increase the budget of the project. $75 billion defense industry,” Erdogan said, speaking at the ceremony to hand over the first national landing ship Anadolu to the military.
The authorities have not weakened their attention to the tourism sector. Recently, Erdogan said his country was determined to become a center of medical tourism. “Turkey in the field of medicine provides services not only to its own citizens. We are determined to make the country a global center of gravity,” the Turkish leader said at the opening ceremony of a hospital in the town of Kocaeli.
A serious modernization has been carried out over the past 20 years in foreign policy. Initially, Turkey’s integration into the European Union was planned as a strategic objective. Turkey would undoubtedly be one of the main determining players. However, the European side did not show much enthusiasm, which led Ankara to reassess the EU’s negotiability. At present, Turkey has become a key power in Western Asia at the junction of the Eurasian space and the Mediterranean, it is a kind of bridge between the East and the West. Turkey’s positions have been particularly strengthened by its willingness to cooperate with neighboring countries. The doctrine of “zero trouble with neighbours” remains fundamental in foreign policy to this day.
Now it is even difficult to imagine that regional and international problems could be solved without Turkey’s participation.
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