Tag: DEIK

  • Turkey’s Economy Minister Says Spain Should See Turkey as Springboard

    Turkey’s Economy Minister Says Spain Should See Turkey as Springboard

    MADRID (A.A) – Turkey’s economy minister said on Thursday that Spain should see Turkey as a springboard, and vice-versa due to their geographies.

    Zafer Caglayan said Turkey was not a country that could be invested and sold goods only.

    “Turkey is the second country in world in contracting industry, and Turkey would like to share advantages it has gained in this industry in Africa, Middle East and Caucasus with Spanish businessmen,” Caglayan told Spain-Turkey Investment & Cooperation Summit in Madrid, Spain.

    Caglayan said Turkey would make significant energy, health, infrastructure and other investments, and many Turkish firms were investing in Spain and more than 400 Spanish companies had investments in Turkey.

    The minister said Turkey was the sixth biggest economy in Europe and Spain was the fifth biggest economy in this continent.

    “Turkey’s national income was 740 billion USD in 2010, and national income of the two countries totalled 2.2 trillion USD,” he said.

    Caglayan said the 8 billion USD of trade volume between the two countries was too low, and this figure could easily be raised to 18 billion USD.

    The minister said Turkey would invest 120 billion USD in energy till 2023, and 50 billion USD in transportation in ten years.

    Caglayan said Spanish companies would continue their investments in high-speed train system in Turkey, and Spanish companies that had submitted bids for Marmaray project were advantageous.

    Moreover, Caglayan said the only way out of global crisis was global cooperation, and Turkey’s year-end exports would reach 135 billion USD and Turkey aimed to raise it to 500 billion USD.

    Caglayan said direct investments in Turkey would climb over 13 billion USD by the end of 2011, and 91 percent of direct investments in Turkey in 2011 were Europe-oriented.

    Minister Caglayan said Turkey made public medium-term economic program earlier on Thursday, and it forecast 7.5 percent year-end growth, but 5 percent annual growth in 2013 and 2014.

    Caglayan said Turkey would exert significant efforts to cut down its current account deficit forecast to 7 percent of the Gross National Product (GDP) from 9.4 percent till 2014, and diminish inflation to 5 percent from 8 percent.

    Turkey would reduce its budget deficit to 1 percent by 2014, Caglayan said.

    Caglayan also said Turkey would implement a new incentive system by the end of this year.

    After the meeting, Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) and Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organizations (CEEOE) signed a cooperation agreement.

    via Turkey’s Economy Minister Says Spain Should See Turkey as Springboard, 13 October 2011 Thursday 17:17.

  • Turkish-Israeli business meeting canceled

    Turkish-Israeli business meeting canceled

    ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

    Turkish ship Mavi Marmara (L) is tugged by a Turkish tug-boat (R) as it leaves the port in the Israeli coastal city of Haifa on Aug. 5, 2010 on its way back to Turkey. AFP photo
    Turkish ship Mavi Marmara (L) is tugged by a Turkish tug-boat (R) as it leaves the port in the Israeli coastal city of Haifa on Aug. 5, 2010 on its way back to Turkey. AFP photo

    A Turkish-Israeli Business Council meeting scheduled for Dec. 1 has been postponed, demonstrating that tensions between the two countries that peaked following Israeli soldiers’ killing of nine Turkish activists in May have not abated.

    The council meeting, which took place in November last year when Israel’s Trade, Economy and Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer visited Turkey, was set to take place in Tel Aviv this time around.

    Officials from Turkey’s Foreign Economic Relations Board, or DEİK, the organizer of the meeting, declined to elaborate on the reasons for the postponement and said they hoped to hold the meeting with broader participation in the future. However, an Israeli official questioned whether the postponement was a result of government pressure on business.

    Israeli Consul for Economic Affairs Doron Abrahami said the organizers of the event did not state any reason for the cancellation. “Maybe there’s a government influence to cancel it, but I really don’t know,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Friday.

    Organizers, contacted by the Daily News, gave the example of a previous Turkish-American Business Council meeting, which was canceled after the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution describing the killings of Armenians in 1915 as genocide. That meeting, they said, was going to take place last April, but following the Turkish decision to cancel it was held seven months later in November.

    The Turkish-Israeli Business Council meeting may take place in the forthcoming period, organizers said on condition of anonymity.

    Abrahami, however, said the justification of linking the Turkish-American business meeting’s postponement with the Turk-Israeli council was not a good example. “That meeting was also canceled because of political reasons,” he said.

    The cancellation comes as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Lebanon repeated calls to establish a kind of a Schengen zone with Middle Eastern countries, excluding Israel. Turkey wants to establish a free trade zone with Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, whose government leaders are expected to meet in January to realize the plans.

    Analysts expressed fears that political tension in Turkish-Israeli ties is now spreading to business relations. “I think it is very unfortunate that the government of Turkey allows political disagreements with Israel to affect business relations,” said Ariel Cohen of the Washington-based Heritage Foundation.

    Cohen told the Daily News he had predicted for a while “deliberate undermining” of the ties that took both sides a lot of effort to build would eventually come. “Military and diplomatic ties are being derailed. Sooner or later it will start affecting business. It is very unfortunate,” he said. “I hope that this will be reversed and the business community has enough sense to appeal to the government of Turkey … not to derail business ties. But I am not optimistic,” he said.

  • Turkey Seeks Closer Energy Partnership and LNG Contract with Qatar

    Turkey Seeks Closer Energy Partnership and LNG Contract with Qatar

    Turkey Seeks Closer Energy Partnership and LNG Contract with Qatar

    Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 6 Issue: 158
    August 18, 2009
    By: Saban Kardas
    The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, paid a two day visit to Turkey on August 17-18, as the guest of Turkish President Abdullah Gul. They both signed several agreements aimed at improving bilateral relations, including promoting closer cooperation on energy issues.

    On August 17, Gul and al-Thani met in Istanbul. The Turkish and Qatari delegations held working meetings during the day, discussing regional issues as well as bilateral cooperation. The first bilateral agreement signed involved a protocol concerning regulating labor issues between the two countries. The second agreement was inked between Turkish Radio and Television Corporation and Qatar’s State Television to enhance broadcasting cooperation. The parties also signed a memorandum of understanding on waiving visa requirements for their citizens (Cihan, August 17).

    During the press briefing, Gul emphasized that the high-level delegation accompanying al-Thani indicated the importance that Qatar attaches to Turkey. He noted that economic cooperation was the most important aspect of bilateral ties and highlighted Qatar’s help in facilitating Turkey’s relations with other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Gul also referred to Qatar’s constructive role in regional affairs and praised his counterpart’s efforts to mediate over regional problems. He reiterated that Turkey and Qatar held similar positions on many issues, and that they had worked together to promote regional peace. Al-Thani also highlighted their growing bilateral ties and expressed his determination to further develop this relationship. Moreover, he acknowledged Turkey’s role in regional policies, and his gratitude toward Ankara for its position on the Palestinian issue (www.tcbb.gov.tr, August 17).

    The annual trade volume between both countries remains low at $1.5 billion. However, Qatar is an important destination for Turkish contractors and its companies have undertaken multi-billion dollar projects there. Realizing the great potential created by Qatar’s infrastructure investments and its expanding economy, the Turkish private sector wants to further penetrate this market. The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) recently announced that as part of their “Gulf Expansion” project, they will hold a major Turkish export fair in Qatar in September (Hurriyet Daily News, July 26). Turkey is also eager to attract investments from Qatar to boost its own economic development, as part of its broader attempt to turn the country into a major destination for Persian Gulf capital (EDM, February 5).

    Reflecting these interests, on the second day of his trip Gul and al-Thani attended a working breakfast of the Turkish-Qatar Business Council, hosted by Turkey’s Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB) and the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK). Gul and the AKP government have proven instrumental in developing closer ties with Qatar and have promoted the flow of Qatari capital in Turkey, thanks partly to their personal ties. However, some of these business transactions were the subject of domestic political discussions. The joint-ventures between Qatari firms and businessmen close to the Turkish government continue to be a major source of criticism (Milliyet, May 1, 2008).

    The parties announced that they will set up a Turkey-Qatar Joint Energy Working Group. Gul said that they discussed the feasibility of gas pipelines, storage facilities and refineries, as well as meeting Turkey’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) needs. Gul invited Qatar to invest in the storage facilities in Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is the terminus of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and the planned Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline. Ankara has actively promoted Ceyhan as a global energy terminal, and al-Thani responded to this offer with great enthusiasm (Vatan, August 18).

    Al-Thani also added that he hopes to see a “pipeline” running from Qatar to Turkey, and that the feasibility work on that project will continue. It was unclear, however, whether it would be a natural gas or crude pipeline, and what route it would follow.

    Prior to the visit, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz had publicized the “natural gas” dimension of the bilateral meeting. Yildiz said that talks were underway with Qatar concerning importing LNG. Yildiz noted that his contacts with Qatar are part of a broader Turkish effort to diversify its energy suppliers and supply routes. He said that if the parties could reach a consensus, Turkey might import around 4 billion cubic meters (bcm) of LNG annually from Qatar (Anadolu Ajansi, August 16). He also added that he hoped to sign a declaration on LNG imports during the visit of the Qatari delegation, yet following the meetings no official announcement was made to that effect.

    Qatar is believed to possess the third largest gas reserves in the world, behind Russia and Iran. It is also a leading supplier of LNG and Turkey wants to develop cooperation with Qatar in natural gas projects. In July Qatar was represented during the signing ceremony of the E.U.-backed Nabucco pipeline and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintained that Nabucco might tap into Qatar’s gas in the future (EDM, July 14).

    Ankara has attempted to import Qatari LNG for its domestic needs for some time. During Gul’s February 2008 and Erdogan’s April 2008 visits to Qatar, energy was an important item on their agendas. They raised the issue of LNG imports, and the negotiations on this have continued since (Hurriyet, February 5, 2008; ANKA, April 15, 2008).

    As a country heavily dependent on importing natural gas, Turkey meets its needs primarily through pipelines from Russia, Iran and Azerbaijan. It also has contracts with Algeria and Nigeria to import 4 bcm and 1.2 bcm of LNG annually, respectively. However, during the heavier winters, or when there are supply disruptions caused by the problems mainly encountered with Iran, Turkey is forced to buy LNG on spot markets. Since it lacks major natural gas storage facilities, such seasonal fluctuations result in the payment of higher sums for energy bills (Radikal, August 17). Therefore, Ankara is considering expanding the country’s storage capacity and importing larger amounts of LNG through long-term contracts, which might help it avoid such problems in the future.

    https://jamestown.org/program/turkey-seeks-closer-energy-partnership-and-lng-contract-with-qatar/