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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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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Turkey’s medical tourism revenues achieved $2.3 billion in 2023, ranking seventh globally in this field.

The Ministry of Commerce stated in a statement on Monday that the “Health in Turkey” electronic portal is the face of the Turkish brand in the medical tourism sector.

The statement explained that the Health in Turkey website includes 175 institutions operating in the medical tourism sector, with the number of requests to participate in the portal increasing day after day.

It added that Turkey ranks 7th globally in the field of medical tourism through 40 health institutions holding international certificates, which contributes positively to Turkey’s preference in the sector at the global level.

The statement stated that the countries of the Middle East, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan are at the forefront of the countries from which Turkey receives visitors for the purpose of medical tourism.

It confirmed achieving revenues of $1.9 billion from the health services sector in 2022, which rose to $2.3 billion in 2023 by receiving 1.4 million health tourists.

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Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said that the value of his country’s exports last March amounted to 22 billion and 578 million dollars.

Bolat explained in a post on the X platform on Thursday that Turkey’s exports have continued to rise since the beginning of this year.

He stated that the value of the country’s exports amounted to $20 billion in January and $21.1 billion in February.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Commerce stated in a statement that exports in March 2024 declined by 4.1 percent compared to exports for the same month last year.

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Georgia’s ambassador to Ankara, George Janjgava, said that his country’s foreign trade volume with Turkey rose by 6 percent in 2023 to reach $3 billion.

Janjgava explained in a statement that this figure constitutes 13.5 percent of Georgia’s total annual foreign trade volume, which amounts to $22 billion.

He pointed out that Turkey is a good neighbor and a friendly country to Georgia and that it is also a strategic partner.

He stressed that relations between the two countries are developing in all fields and sectors, noting that the two countries celebrated in 2022 the thirtieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between them.

He pointed to Ankara’s role as a mediator in the Russian-Ukrainian war, describing Turkey as a “leading country” at the regional and international levels.

He continued: “Thanks to its strong administration and economy, Turkey is making the necessary efforts to contribute positively to regional and global peace.”

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The Turkish defense industries company “aselsan” signed 3 sales deals abroad worth about $35 million.

The company said in a statement on Wednesday that three separate sales contracts abroad were signed with a total value of 35 million and 130 thousand dollars.

The statement explained that the deals include the export of guidance kits and an electro-optical monitoring, control and targeting system (ASELFLIR-500) to international users.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that the implementation of the “Turkey Centenary Vision” in Istanbul will begin with the local elections scheduled for March 31.

This came in a speech he delivered on Sunday to a crowd of supporters of the Public Alliance as part of the election campaign of candidate Murat Kurum for the presidency of the Greater Istanbul Municipality.

The “Turkey Centenary” is a vision announced by President Erdogan in late 2022, which includes the programs and goals of the Turkish Republic in its second centenary.

At the beginning of his speech, Erdogan praised the city of Istanbul and “the greatness of its history and its geographical, cultural and civilizational status on the global level.”

Erdogan called on supporters of the People’s Alliance, which consists of the Justice and Development Party, the Nationalist Movement, and the Grand Union parties, to “work day and night” in order to collect more votes for the coalition’s candidate, Murat Kurum.

He continued, saying: “We must all rid Istanbul of the period of stagnation that lasted 5 years during the opposition’s tenure as mayor of Greater Istanbul. Therefore, we must knock on all doors, win hearts, and convince voters to vote for the candidate who will serve the city.”

Erdogan criticized the current administration of the Istanbul municipality, which is from the opposition Republican People’s Party, stating that it “has not been able to provide tangible services to the city’s residents.”

In this context, he referred to the services provided to the city of Istanbul by the Justice and Development governments under his leadership during the past 21 years.

He added, “In the past 21 years, we have made government investments in Istanbul worth 1 trillion 650 billion liras (the dollar equivalent).”

In this context, Erdogan enumerated the projects implemented by his governments in Istanbul, from health to transportation, education, infrastructure, airports, universities, and social services.

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Spot gold prices jumped on Thursday to a new record high above $2,230 per ounce, driven by statements from the US Federal Reserve about an imminent cut in interest rates.

On Wednesday, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that the Open Market Committee team believes that it will lower interest rates on three occasions later this year.

He stated that lowering interest rates would remain strongly on the table despite the rise in the consumer price index in February to 3.2 percent, up from 3.1 percent in the previous January.

By 08:22 (GMT), spot gold contract prices rose by 1.1 percent, or $31, to $2,230.5 per ounce.

Wall Street analysts expect gold prices to break the $2,300 per ounce barrier later this year due to increased demand, especially from central banks.

At yesterday’s meeting, the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee kept interest rates unchanged at a range of 5.25 percent – 5.5 percent and maintained expectations of reducing borrowing costs three times this year.

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The Turkish sovereign wealth fund signed the first international Islamic Murabaha financing deal with the UAE’s Sharjah Islamic Bank, worth $100 million.

A statement issued by the Fund on Wednesday explained that it concluded its first Islamic financing deal with Sharjah Islamic Bank through a Murabaha financing agreement worth $100 million with a maturity of 3 years.

He added that the deal is the first mutual Murabaha financing provided by Sharjah Islamic Bank to a global sovereign fund.

He stated that the deal aims to strengthen international markets’ confidence in the Turkish economy.

For his part, Director General of the Turkish Sovereign Wealth Fund, Arda Armut, confirmed that the deal is “part of the sustainable development vision and the mission of supporting recovery and deepening financial markets.”

He added that the sovereign wealth fund continues its work to make Turkey “an important player in Islamic finance and diversify tools in this field.”

In turn, Mohammed Abdullah, CEO of Sharjah Islamic Bank, expressed his welcome for Turkey’s support by providing the first bilateral Murabaha financing with an international sovereign fund.

He added that this cooperation will contribute significantly to increasing international Islamic financing opportunities in Turkey, and is an indication of the Bank of Sharjah’s determination to respond to the financing needs of strategic institutions of a country like Turkey.​​​​​​

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