TUSIAD Turkey Letter: 09 February 2015

Foreign Policy

  • At Diplomatic Conference, Turkey-Israel Rift Worsens
  • G-20 Finance Chiefs Face Tough Test in Istanbul
  • Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner urges Turkey to reconsider security bill

Economy and Energy

  • Turkey’s top business group urges maintenance of institutions’ independence
  • Turkish Central Bank rejects snap rate cut after inflation data
  • Turkey to lose $5 billion annually if not included in transatlantic trade deal: Minister
  • Turkish Lira Sinks to New Low
  • Turkey, Finland sign Joint Economic and Trade Committee agreement
  • Turkey’s top business group develops project to decrease income gap between east, west

Domestic Politics

  • HDP’s Demirtaş says neither crisis nor significant progress in peace process
  • Bank Asya seized by Turkish state-fund, drawing reaction

Foreign Policy

At Diplomatic Conference, Turkey-Israel Rift Worsens
The Turkish foreign minister withdrew at the last minute from a high-profile international security conference in Munich on Friday, after learning that Israeli diplomats might take part. The abrupt move was the latest twist in a bilateral relationship between Israel and Turkey that was once friendly but has become strained and bitter.
~~~
New York Times, February 6, 2015, At Diplomatic Conference, Turkey-Israel Rift Worsens

G-20 Finance Chiefs Face Tough Test in Istanbul
Finance leaders from the Group of 20 largest economies will this week urge each other to deliver on promises for policy overhauls needed to pull the global economy out of its postcrisis quagmire.
~~~
Wall Street Journal, February 8, 2015, G-20 Finance Chiefs Face Tough Test in Istanbul

Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner urges Turkey to reconsider security bill
With the Turkish parliament expected to begin discussing the government’s controversial new security bill this week, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks has expressed his concerns and urged parliament to reconsider the bill, in a statement released on the commission’s official Facebook page on Feb. 6.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, February 9, 2015, Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner urges Turkey to reconsider security bill

Economy and Energy

Turkey’s top business group urges maintenance of institutions’ independence
The independence of the Central Bank and similar institutions is important for business circles, the head of Turkey’s top business organization has said, calling for an end to recent developments that cast a shadow over the independence of key institutions.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, February 6, 2015, Turkey’s top business group urges maintenance of institutions’ independence

Turkish Central Bank rejects snap rate cut after inflation data
Turkish Central Bank, under pressure from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to aggressively lower rates, on Feb. 3 rejected the option of an unscheduled rate cut as inflation slowed less than expected.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, February 3, 2015, Turkish Central Bank rejects snap rate cut after inflation data

Turkey to lose $5 billion annually if not included in transatlantic trade deal: Minister
Turkey stands to lose roughly $5 billion per year in direct losses alone if it is not included in a final free trade agreement between the EU and the U.S., Turkey’s minister for EU Affairs said late on Feb. 5.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, February 6, 2015, Turkey to lose $5 billion annually if not included in transatlantic trade deal: Minister

Turkish Lira Sinks to New Low
The Turkish lira sank to a fresh record low against the dollar on Monday, as expectations that the central bank will be forced to cut rates continued to weigh on the battered currency.
~~~
Wall Street Journal, February 9, 2015, Turkish Lira Sinks to New Low

Turkey, Finland sign Joint Economic and Trade Committee agreement
Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci and Finland’s Foreign Trade Minister Lenita Toivakka have signed a Joint Economic and Trade Committee agreement intended to boost bilateral trade and investment.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, February 4, 2015, Turkey, Finland sign Joint Economic and Trade Committee agreement

Turkey’s top business group develops project to decrease income gap between east, west
Turkey’s prominent Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSİAD) has developed a project to close the income gap between the country’s southern and southeast region said vice chairman Sedat Şükrü Ünlütürk.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, February 3, 2015, Turkey’s top business group develops project to decrease income gap between east, west

Domestic Politics

HDP’s Demirtaş says neither crisis nor significant progress in peace process
Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chairman Selahattin Demirtaş has described the Kurdish peace process as at neither an impasse nor a breakthrough, saying an HDP delegation will meet with the government on Feb. 8.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, February 6, 2015, HDP’s Demirtaş says neither crisis nor significant progress in peace process

Bank Asya seized by Turkish state-fund, drawing reaction
Turkey’s state run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) has seized control of Bank Asya, the participation bank at odds with the government due to its links with U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, with leading government figures defending the move.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, February 4, 2015, Bank Asya seized by Turkish state-fund, drawing reaction

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