Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat announced on Saturday that his country had raised the quota of Palestinian dates exempt from customs duties from 3 to 5 thousand tons.

In a post on his account on the “X” platform, he mentioned his meeting with the Palestinian Minister of Economy (former Khaled Asseily) in December 2023.

He added that he and Minister Asseily reached the necessity of raising the share of Palestinian dates exempt from customs duties, so that this would be announced today.

The Turkish minister expressed his hope that this step would bring goodness to the Palestinian economy, which he said was one of its basic elements.

Bolat affirmed that Turkey will continue to “meet the demands of the Palestinian brothers in various fields and by all means available to us.”

For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy quoted in a statement the Minister of Economy, Muhammad Al-Amour, as welcoming “the Turkish government’s decision.”

It added, “The Turkish decision comes in response to the Palestinian request regarding raising the quota of Palestinian dates exempt from customs and facilitating the entry of customs-free Palestinian agricultural products into Turkish markets.”

According to the statement, Al-Amour expressed, in a telephone call with Bolat, “his thanks and appreciation to Turkey as president, government and people for this decision that strengthens the steadfastness of Palestinian farmers in particular, and for all aspects of the continuing support that Turkey provides to the Palestinian people politically and economically and for the relief it provides to our people in the Gaza Strip.” .

In the 2023 season, date production in Palestine was estimated at about 18,000 tons, produced on 870 farms employing about 5,000 workers, according to statements by former Minister of Agriculture Riyad Al-Attar in September 2023, reported by official Palestinian news at the time.

According to Al-Attari, the revenues of this sector exceed $100 million annually, noting that Palestinian dates will reach 60 markets internationally during 2022.

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A forum was launched in Istanbul on Saturday, bringing together businessmen and young people passionate about trade and entrepreneurship.

The program is organized by the Turkish YediHilal Association within the framework of its “School of Commerce” project.

The forum began at the Center of the Association of Independent Businessmen and Industrialists “MUSIAD”, and focuses on “export” in this year’s edition, and will conclude its work on Sunday.

In his opening speech, the association’s president, Samad Bajaji, said that they have been working to raise an educated and qualified young generation since 2013.

He stressed the association’s keenness to raise Muslim merchants who “respect what is permissible and what is forbidden and pay attention to zakat.”

In turn, the head of the Commerce School Committee, Muhammad Jabaji, stressed the importance of youth and stated that they are organizing the forum for their sake.

He stressed that trust constitutes the backbone of trade and without it it is not possible to do business at the local and international levels.

He explained that they have been organizing trade school forums since 2018.

He stated that they have met more than two thousand young people to date, 35 of whom have established companies, many of which export and provide job opportunities for many.

The project consists of three stages, the first in the form of sessions under the titles of boldness, patience, gratitude, and business ethics.

The forum organizers divide the young participants into groups in order to listen to their investment ideas.

The winner of the best investment idea will receive a sum of cash.

As for the second stage, participants will undergo distance learning lessons for a period of 6 weeks by professional investors on the basics of investment, digital marketing, financial management, creative thinking, intellectual development, and others.

In the third stage, the project will communicate with the participants who have successfully passed the previous two stages in a guidance framework and to transfer experience to the trainees so that they can establish their own businesses.

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The Turkish Central Bank decided on Thursday to keep the interest rate fixed at 50 percent on repurchase operations for a week.

This came in a statement issued by the Central Bank following a meeting held by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Turkish Central Bank, headed by the Bank’s Governor, Yasar Fatih Kara Khan.

The statement explained that as a result of the meeting, it was decided to fix the interest rate at 50 percent.

He added, “Although the Board of Directors decided to keep the interest rate constant, the cautious stance against rising risks to inflation was reiterated.”

The statement stressed that if the bank expects a “significant and permanent deterioration in inflation, the monetary policy stance will be tightened,” noting that it is closely monitoring the effects of monetary tightening on loans and domestic demand.

The central bank raised the interest rate by 500 basis points to 50 percent during its previous meeting on March 21.

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The Consulate General of Turkey in New York City at the Turkish House on Wednesday organized the “Economy and Politics Talks,” the first event of its kind with the participation of economist Nouriel Roubini.

The discussions were moderated by the Turkish Ministry of Treasury and Finance Attaché Gozde Jezmegul, where topics such as global economic developments, geopolitical tensions, inflation, interest rate expectations, trade relations between the United States and China, emerging markets, and artificial intelligence were discussed.

In his speech, the Turkish Consul General in New York, Reyhan Ozgur, pointed out that Turkey hosts many meetings, events and discussion panels, and that they are happy to hold the first episode of a new series of events called “Economy and Politics Talks.”

Ozgur pointed out that the series of events was launched at a time of political and economic uncertainty, explaining: “We are witnessing unprecedented changes and challenges shaping our world through the emergence of new economic forces and new technologies.”

He stressed the importance of engaging in dialogue and exchanging knowledge and experience in times like these.

He stated that they aim to “develop dialogue on political and economic developments between financial institutions, the private sector, government officials and academia through this event,” and the consul expressed his belief that the discussions that will be held will be useful.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country and Germany aim to increase the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries from $50 billion to $60 billion.

This came in a joint press conference on Wednesday held by President Erdogan with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

Erdogan added: “We hope that Turkey and Germany will from now on talk about joint production projects in defense industries and not about obstacles.”

He continued: “We want to completely remove from our agenda the restrictions we face in the defense industries with Germany.”

He stressed that human ties contributed to strengthening existing bilateral relations between the two countries, thanking in this context the German people for standing by the Turks in the devastating earthquake disaster that struck southern Turkey on February 6, 2023.

The Turkish President pointed out that he discussed with his German counterpart bilateral relations in all their aspects and details, stressing Ankara’s desire to strengthen relations with Berlin.

He continued: “Our cooperation in the field of tourism is developing day after day. In 2023, we hosted more than 6 million German tourists, and I believe that this number will increase.”

He added: “We discussed the steps that must be taken, especially with regard to the customs union agreement and visa liberalization. We also exchanged views on regional and international developments.”

Erdogan indicated that he discussed with Steinmeier issues related to the Turkish community in Germany, and stated that they attach importance to the integration of the Turkish community there and encourage it to do so.

He stressed that Turkey considers the new German citizenship law, which makes dual citizenship possible, an important step in this context.

He added, “But on the other hand, our concerns are increasing about the anti-foreigner, anti-Islamic, far-right, and racist organizations that are rising in Germany and throughout Europe.”

He stated that during his meeting with Steinmeier, he also touched on combating terrorist organizations that disturb the peace in Germany and attack representative offices belonging to Turkey.

He continued: “We need more effective cooperation in combating these organizations that harm our alliance. We expect more support and solidarity from the German authorities in the fight against terrorism.”

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Turkey, Iraq, Qatar, and the UAE on Monday concluded a four-way memorandum of understanding for cooperation on the “Development Road” project.

The memorandum was signed at the Republican Palace in the capital, Baghdad, under the patronage of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani.

The Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Oraloglu, the Iraqi Minister of Transport, Razzaq Muhaibis Al-Saadawi, the Qatari Minister of Transport, Jassim bin Saif Al-Sulaiti, and the Emirati Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Suhail Muhammad Al-Mazrouei, participated in the signing ceremony.

President Erdogan arrived in Baghdad on Monday morning, accompanied by a large number of Turkish ministers, to meet with Iraqi officials.

The “Development Road” project is a land and railway road extending from Iraq to Turkey and its ports, with a length of 1,200 kilometers inside Iraq, and aims to transport goods between Europe and the Gulf countries.

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Iraqi government spokesman Bassem al-Awadi said that the expected visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iraq tomorrow, Monday, represents a “qualitative shift” in bilateral relations between the two countries and will witness the discussion of “important files.”

This came in statements made by Al-Awadi prior to Erdogan’s visit to Baghdad, and comes 12 years after his last visit to Iraq.

Al-Awadi added that the visit will be a “qualitative shift” in Iraqi-Turkish relations, especially since preparations for it have been taking place for about a year.

It is expected that Erdogan’s visit to Iraq will give an “important impetus” to strengthening economic and trade relations between the two countries, in addition to politics and security issues.

Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Polat previously said that Baghdad and Ankara will sign during President Erdogan’s visit to Iraq “a joint declaration regarding the establishment of the joint economic and trade committee and the protocol for establishing a consultation and cooperation mechanism in the areas of product safety and technical barriers.”

He added: “The Turkish Council for Foreign Economic Relations and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce in Iraq will also sign 3 agreements in the trade field, including a memorandum of understanding.”

The Iraqi government spokesman explained that “there are 4 important files on the agenda, the most important of which is the water file and the development road file, in addition to the security file related to the terrorist PKK organization.”

The fourth file, according to Al-Awadi, is “the Turkish companies file, which gains its importance from the strength of trade exchanges between Iraq and Turkey, in addition to other files that will dominate the Turkish president’s visit to Baghdad.”

Regarding the water file, Al-Awadi pointed out, “A strategic agreement will be signed between Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani, given that Turkey is a country described internationally as one of the best countries in the world in investing in water wealth by all means and methods, and therefore they have great experience.”

Regarding the development path, the spokesman stressed that “there will be important agreements and things announced between the two sides, given that the center of the path is Turkey, and it will be at the heart of the negotiations, along with the file of Turkish companies’ investments and their role and work in Iraq.”

The development road project includes a land road and a railway linking trade routes in Asia, the Gulf states to the south, and European markets through Turkish territory.

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Erdal Eren, head of the Turkish Contractors Union, said that the attention of his colleagues in the sector is directed to the projects to be implemented within the framework of the “development road” that passes through Iraq and Turkish territory.

This came in an interview about the investment goals of Turkish contractors in Iraq on the eve of the expected visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Baghdad on Monday.

Eren added that Turkish contractors aspire to complete the entire “Development Road” project.

He stressed that the huge projects of highways, bridges, and railways completed by Turkish contractors inside Turkey are an indication of their ability to complete the entire “development path.”

Eren pointed out that the “development path” seems to open the door to other projects in Iraq as well.

He stated that the projects that will result from the launch of the “Development Road” include the construction of new cities and residential areas and other projects along the path of the project, whose investment budget amounts to about 17 billion dollars.

Eren stressed the importance of President Erdogan’s visit to Iraq for Turkish contractors and the future of their projects in this Arab country.

The “Development Road” project is a land road and railway extending from Iraq to Turkey and its ports. The length of the road and railway is 1,200 kilometers inside Iraq, and the project aims to transport goods between Europe and the Gulf countries.

It is scheduled to be completed in three phases, the first ending in 2028, the second in 2033, and the third in 2050.

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Turkey attracted direct international investments worth $240 million last February.

This was stated in the “Bulletin of International Direct Investments in Numbers” published by the International Investors Association (YASED) on Wednesday.

Investment capital flows amounted to $217 million, and real estate sales to foreign citizens amounted to $152 million.

Subtracting the downside effect of divestments worth $15 million and debt instruments worth $114 million, international direct investments flowing into Turkey in February amounted to $240 million.

Ireland ranked first in direct international investments with 18 percent, followed by Germany with 15 percent, then the UAE with 13 percent, Italy with 10 percent, and Sweden with 8 percent.

The European Union countries’ proportion of direct international investments reached 61 percent of total investments in February.

The total value of foreign direct investments in Turkey since 2002 has reached more than $264 billion.

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The unemployment rate in Turkey declined last February to 8.7 percent.

According to data from the Turkish Statistics Authority on Monday, the unemployment rate during February recorded a decline of 0.3 points compared to the previous month, January 2024.

The number of unemployed people across the country, aged 15 and over, decreased by 109,000, bringing the total to 3 million and 78,000.

The percentage of unemployed among males reached 7.3 percent and 11.3 percent among females.

The unemployment rate among young people aged 15 to 24 years recorded 15.6 percent, a decrease of 0.8 points compared to January.

The unemployment rate in the aforementioned age group was 13.4 percent for males and 19.6 percent for females.

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