The head of the Turkish Presidency’s Investment Office, Burak Dağlıoğlu, said that Turkey rose to fourth place in Europe through the international investment projects it attracted last year, worth $10.6 billion.

This came in an interview about the preliminary results of the report on the countries most attractive to international direct investment in Europe for the year 2023, which will be published by the auditing and consulting firm (EY).

Dağlıoğlu stated that last year, Turkey continued its steady rise in the post-pandemic period among the countries most attractive to direct international investments in Europe.

Dağlıoğlu stated that for the first time after the Corona pandemic, a decline in international direct investment projects in Europe was recorded compared to the previous year.

He stated that behind this decline were low economic growth, high inflation, increased energy prices, and geopolitical risks.

Dağlıoğlu stated that 5,694 investment projects were announced in Europe last year, a decrease of 4 percent compared to the previous year.

He explained that with this number of projects, Europe recorded a rate 11 percent lower than the 2019 level before the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, and 14 percent lower than the peak in 2017.

He continued: “While international direct investment projects in the service sectors decreased significantly, the decline in the manufacturing sector was limited to 1 percent.”

Dağlıoğlu stated that although France attracted the largest number of projects last year, it recorded a 5 percent decrease compared to 2022.

He pointed out that the United Kingdom ranked second and the number of projects it attracted increased by 6 percent annually, while Germany ranked third and recorded a decrease of 12 percent year on year.

Dağlıoğlu stated that during 2023, Turkey continued its steady rise in the post-Corona period among the countries most attractive to direct international investments in Europe.

He explained that Turkey ranked seventh on the list in Europe in 2020 and fifth in 2022.

He stated that Turkey rose to fourth place in the top ten, attracting 375 international direct investment projects in 2023.

He pointed out that Turkey ranked first among the top ten in 2023 in terms of the rate of increase, with an increase of 17 percent compared to the previous year.

He added, “While there was an overall decline in the number of manufacturing projects across the continent, factors such as restructuring supply chains and sourcing from neighboring countries enabled a few countries on the continent, including Turkey, to attract more manufacturing projects.”

Dağlıoğlu stated that they are working to ensure that Turkey is an attractive investment destination on a global level and to provide a high-level investment experience for international investors coming to the country.

He added: “Turkey has become a prominent destination for investors thanks to its strategic location and strong investment environment.”

He continued: “The international direct investment we attracted in 2023, worth $10.6 billion, is the most clear indicator of this success.”

He added: “Despite the slowdown in investment trends across Europe, Turkey has become an attractive center for international investors by strengthening its infrastructure and diversifying its economy. That we have overtaken Spain and ranked fourth after France, England and Germany in this regard is very positive.”

Dağlıoğlu stated: “When we look at the past ten years, we find that Turkey has maintained its leading position, especially in manufacturing sector investments in a wide geographical area covering Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

He explained: “We have become the country that attracts the most industrial investments in these regions, as Turkey attracted 21.7 percent of industrial investments during the aforementioned period.”

He stated: “We rank first as the country that attracted the most expansion investments, as Turkey attracted 19.1% of the expansion type investments achieved since 2013.”

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The US State Department said on Tuesday that Turkey is an important country in diversifying European countries’ energy resources and reducing their dependence on Russia.

In his daily press conference, US State Department Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel touched on Turkey’s talks with the American energy company ExxonMobil.

Patel noted that he would not comment on the ongoing trade talks, but stressed that Washington encourages all countries in the region to diversify energy resources and reduce their dependence on Russia.

He added, “Turkey, as the host country of the Southern Gas Corridor, plays a very important role in diversifying energy supplies in Europe and achieving independence from Russia.”

He stated that Ankara took steps to diversify its resources of liquefied natural gas during the war in Ukraine.

Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar announced talks with ExxonMobil to purchase 2.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas worth about $1.1 billion.

According to the statement of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Minister Bayraktar confirmed in an interview with the British newspaper the Financial Times that Turkey has taken various steps to increase its independence in the field of energy.

He pointed out that Turkey imports almost all of its natural gas needs and that it aims to create a new supply portfolio without relying on a single supplier.

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Istanbul Airport topped the list of Europe’s busiest airports in the third week of April.

According to a report by the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, the average number of flights at Istanbul Airport reached 1,424 flights per day between April 15-21.

Thus, Istanbul Airport ranked first among the busiest European airports in the third week of this month.

It was followed by Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam with 1,314 flights per day, and Heathrow Airport in London with 1,306 flights.

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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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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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The Turkish Foreign Ministry called on Germany to bring the attackers of its consulate building in Hanover to justice as soon as possible.

This came in a statement by the ministry on Wednesday, which confirmed that supporters of the terrorist PKK carried out an attack on the night of March 26, targeting the entrance to the consulate in Hanover, without resulting in any deaths or injuries.

The statement stressed that the Turkish side contacted German officials following the attack and assured them that “the German authorities are responsible for the safety of citizens and Turkish diplomatic missions.”

It added: “It was emphasized that activities aimed at provoking the Turkish community in Europe should not be allowed.”

The statement noted that “the activities of the terrorist PKK to destabilize Turkish society in Europe are increasing.”

It stressed that “the self-control of Turkish citizens prevented these provocations from turning into larger events.”

It added: “We expect the countries concerned not to allow the activities of supporters of the terrorist organization and to bring the attackers to justice as soon as possible.”

Last night, supporters of the terrorist PKK carried out an attack on the Turkish Consulate building in Hanover, Germany, using solid objects to break its windows before fleeing after breaking the glass of the main entrance to the Consulate.

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The Troy Museum in Çanakkale Province, western Turkey, aims to receive 700,000 visitors by the end of the current year 2024.

“Troy”, located within an archaeological area dating back 5,000 years, won the Museum of the Year award in 2020 and the “European Academy of Museums” award in 2021, among other awards.

During the past year, the Archaeological Museum received 538 thousand visitors from inside and outside Türkiye.

It also received 25,000 people during the first two months of the current year 2024.

Museum director Ridvan Golcuk said that the number of visitors is increasing day after day.

He added that the number of visitors to the museum during 2023 recorded a 50 percent increase compared to the previous year.

Golcuk confirmed that they aim to receive 700,000 visitors by the end of 2024.

The museum’s area is 12,750 square meters, 3,000 square meters of which are designated for exhibition halls of antiquities.

Troy is an ancient historical city that flourished in the third millennium BC and was famous for the story of the wooden Trojan Horse, inside which the Spartan soldiers hid, and sneaked in at night to open the city gates to the armies of King Menelaus, King of Sparta, led by his brother Agamemnon, who besieged the city for nearly ten years.

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The European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) announced that Istanbul Airport was the busiest between December 4 and 10.

According to the report issued on Sunday, the average daily frequency of flights at Istanbul Airport reached 1,296 flights.

London Heathrow Airport came in second place in terms of the number of flights with 1,286 flights per day, while Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands came in third with 1,251 flights per day.

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Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said that his country plans to become self-sufficient in the field of energy during the next three decades, announcing that oil production in mountain Gabar (east) has exceeded 30 thousand barrels per day.

The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources stated in a statement that Bayraktar held a meeting with a group of Turkish youth in the capital, Ankara, in which he answered their inquiries about topics related to the country’s work in the field of energy.

According to the statement, Bayraktar explained that one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s goals for the “Century of Turkey” is energy independence.

He added: “Therefore, we have a definitive goal in energy, which is to make Turkey completely independent (self-sufficient) in the field of energy and save it from the import problem in the ‘Turkey Century,’ and we hope to achieve this within the next thirty years.”

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

Bayraktar stressed that independence in the field of energy means Turkey’s independence, and that Turkey’s security in this field is an issue equivalent to Turkey’s national security.

He pointed to President Erdogan’s announcement of the discovery of a natural gas field off the coast of the Black Sea in August 2020, which is the largest in the country’s history, with a volume of gas that may meet between 25 to 30 percent of Turkey’s needs.

In late 2022, Turkey announced the discovery of an additional 170 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Black Sea, bringing the total volume of discoveries to 710 billion cubic meters.

The Turkish Minister also referred in the context to the discovery of an oil reserve in the state of Şırnak (east) in May 2023.

He said: “We found crude oil in mountain Gabar and are extracting oil from the region. The daily production extracted from Gabar has exceeded 30 thousand barrels.”

Last May, President Erdogan announced the discovery of an oil discovery with a production capacity of 100,000 barrels per day in the state of Şırnak.

He added at the time: “I would like to announce new good news. We have discovered an oil field with a production capacity of up to 100,000 barrels per day in Gora Gabar.”

According to monitoring data from Turkey’s Mediterranean Program for the years 2024-2026, Turkey’s energy imports rose to a record level, recording $96.5 billion in 2022, accompanied by the impact of the sanctions imposed on Russia as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which caused commodity prices to rise in the aforementioned year.

However, the decline in energy prices during the current year 2023, according to the same data in September of this year due to the increase in gas reserves in Europe and weak demand for it in China, Turkey’s energy imports decreased by 26.2 percent in the period from January to July. 2023 compared to the same period last year, declining to $41 billion.

In parallel, estimates based on data indicate that Turkey’s energy imports will decrease by 26.4 percent in 2023 compared to 2022 and decline to $71 billion.

It is expected that these imports will reach $77.3 billion in 2024 and $76.3 billion in 2025.

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