Turkish Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet şimşek said on Saturday that the positive results of his country’s economic program were reflected in its credit rating decisions.

This came in a post on his account on a social media site as part of his assessment of Standard & Poor’s raising Turkey’s credit rating yesterday, Friday.

“The positive rating outlook from Standard & Poor’s, Fitch and Moody’s bodes well for continued rating increases,” şimşek said.

He added: “We are determined to raise confidence in our country to the highest level through our program, which we continue to strengthen and implement.”

Yesterday, Friday, Standard & Poor’s raised Turkey’s credit rating by one notch from “B” to “B+” after 11 years and kept expectations at “positive.”

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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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Turkey and Czechia signed a declaration of intent on cooperation in environmental protection.

This came according to what the Minister of Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change, Mehmet Özhaseki, announced on Thursday through his account on the “X” platform.

Özhaseki explained that he met his Czech counterpart, Petr Hladik, and his accompanying delegation in the capital, Ankara, and said: “We signed a statement of good intentions regarding cooperation in protecting the environment between the two countries.”

He pointed out that the meeting witnessed consultations on the projects implemented by the Ministry, most notably “Zero Waste,” which has become a well-known brand worldwide.

He added: “We will increase our efforts to make the world a livable place for future generations based on our awareness of the need to move together and find common solutions to environmental problems.”

He continued: “We will exchange our experiences in combating climate change and cooperate on environmental projects in line with our goal of achieving net zero emissions and the 2053 green development goal set by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”

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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced that his country had joined the “genocide” lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice.

This came in a press conference held by Fidan with his Indonesian counterpart, Retno Marsudi, on Wednesday in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

Fidan indicated that he sensed during his discussions in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with the countries that recognize Palestine, especially within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League countries, that some of them were ready to take a position on the genocide lawsuit against Israel before the International Court of Justice.

He stated that Nicaragua and Colombia had taken a concrete position on the issue, adding: “We presented the results of our assessments today to President (Recep Tayyip Erdogan), and I would like to announce them here for the first time. In accordance with the political decision taken, we in Turkey decided to join the lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel.” (genocide) at the International Court of Justice.”

Minister Fidan expressed his hope that the case at the International Court of Justice would proceed in the right direction with this step taken by Turkey.

He continued: “We will complete our legal procedures after our president made this political decision and announced it to the whole world.”

He added: “In the meantime, we will continue to work with all friendly and allied countries on what can be done regarding the issue and any other countries that can also submit requests.”

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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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Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said that his country received 9 million and 68 tourists during the first quarter of the current year 2024.

This came in statements he made on Tuesday during a press conference in Istanbul to reveal the latest data on the tourism sector for the year 2024.

The minister added that the number of tourists coming to Turkey during the first quarter of 2024 increased by 16.7 percent compared to the same period last year.

He explained that the average stay of foreign tourists in Türkiye was 11.1 days during the first quarter of this year.

He pointed out that the Turkish tourism sector is close to returning to the numbers it recorded before the Corona epidemic period.

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Tourism sector revenues in Turkey increased by 5.4 percent during the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, reaching $8 billion, 784 million and 800 thousand dollars.

This came according to the latest data published by the Turkish Statistics Authority on Tuesday.

The data showed that 21 percent of tourism revenues in the first quarter of this year were derived from visits by Turkish citizens residing abroad.

It indicated that 46 percent of foreign visitors came to Turkey for trips, entertainment, sports and cultural activities, 13.3 percent for the purpose of visiting relatives and friends, and 9.6 percent for the purpose of shopping.

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Turkish Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek said on Monday that his country’s situation is much better than many developing countries, and that the ratio of public debt to national income in Turkey is less than half the emerging market average.

This came during the “Conservatives-Turkey Dialogue” session within the framework of the annual meetings of the Islamic Development Bank held in Riyadh on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of its founding.

Şimşek mentioned in his speech that they have established a reliable financial framework to support the fight against inflation in Turkey.

He reported that public finances are improving despite the effects of the earthquake that struck the country in February last year.

He explained that Turkey’s public debt to national income ratio is 29.5 percent, less than half the emerging market average.

Şimşek emphasized that fiscal discipline is one of the basic pillars of Turkey’s medium-term economic program.

The Turkish minister also pointed out that his country has a “very comprehensive structural reform agenda.”

In response to a question about the interest policies of global central banks and emerging markets, Şimşek said, “There are very few developing countries that have a good story at the moment, and Turkey has a great story.”

He added, “The story is the structural transformation of our country. Turkey’s program aims to ensure price stability, but it is not limited to this alone. There is also a comprehensive structural reform program.”

He continued: “We are determined to invest in human resources, improve the investment environment, and implement public finance reform.”

He also pointed out that the digital transformation is no less important than the green transformation, adding: “We will take the necessary steps regarding this twin transformation.”

He pointed out that the trend of future policies of banks such as the US Federal Reserve or the European Central Bank towards flexibility would improve financial conditions.

Şimşek pointed out that countries such as Turkey want to attract more investments, and pointed to “an increase in investors’ appetite for risk.”

He explained that global financial expansion also means a potentially supportive environment for global growth.

He added, “Strong global growth means a further increase in risk appetite.”

He pointed out that “the rise in risk appetite clearly benefits emerging markets, and Turkey is one of them.”

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Turkey’s Permanent Representative to the European Union, Faruk Kaymakcı, said that the Union must treat his country on an equal footing with other candidate countries for membership.

This came at a meeting in Brussels on Monday as part of Enlargement Day activities on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the largest expansion of the European Union, which included 10 countries.

Kaymakcı pointed out that the final statement on Turkey issued by the European Union summit held on April 17 and 18 “was disappointing.”

He stressed that steps must be taken as soon as possible, such as starting high-level dialogues, reactivating the European Investment Bank in Turkey, facilitating visas, and modernizing the customs union.

He pointed out that the European Union “links every issue related to Turkey to Cyprus,” adding: “We cannot reach any solution with unilateral policies.”

On the other hand, Kaymakcı thanked the European Union for its solidarity with Turkey following the earthquake disaster on February 6, 2023, and noted that “pledges must be turned into actions.”

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Turkish Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek announced that his country had received financing from the Islamic Development Bank worth $6.3 billion.

This came in a statement about his current visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the annual meetings of the Islamic Development Bank, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of its founding.

The Turkish minister added that the Islamic Development Bank approved the strategy for its activities in Turkey for the period 2024-2026.

Under the strategy that was signed by Şimşek and the head of the Islamic Development Bank, Sulaiman Al-Jasser, the bank will finance projects in Turkey worth $6.3 billion.

He stressed that the projects that will be funded by the Islamic Development Bank focus primarily on development, in addition to education, health, transportation, agriculture, industry, energy, and infrastructure.

In a related context, Şimşek pointed out that the Islamic Development Bank has financed projects worth $12.9 billion in Turkey since its founding until now.

This step by the Islamic Development Bank comes nearly two weeks after Şimşek announced that an agreement had been reached with the World Bank to finance the country with $18 billion over the next three years.

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