Are we seeing the start of Turkey’s economic turnaround?
World Bank praises Turkey for ‘steps in right direction’?
A World Bank official this week praised Turkey’s recent economic policies as “steps in the right direction,” signaling a potential turnaround in a five-year economic crisis that saw historic lows for the Turkish lira, accompanied by record high inflation.
There is now hope for progress, following decisions by Central Bank Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan to raise interest rates to combat inflation and increase taxes to close the budget deficit.
“We believe that the monetary policy tightening … , the unwinding of distortive financial regulations and the fiscal revenue measures to curtail the fiscal deficit being pursued by the Ministry of Finance are steps in the right direction,” said Humberto Lopez, World Bank country director for Turkey.
Inflation remains high at 58.9%, and the tax hikes disproportionately hit the poor, as Adam Lucente reports, but the
“While?recent economic indicators show a mixed picture, Turkish assets have displayed strong performance, signaling renewed investor confidence,” writes Piero Cingari for Al-Monitor Pro.?
Meanwhile, the news was less promising on Turkish accession to the European Union.?EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, in a visit to Ankara this week, said that Turkey must implement democratic reforms to revive its stalled membership?bid to join the bloc, as Ezgi Akin reports.?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has linked his country’s?EU membership negotiations?to approving Sweden’s accession to NATO?.
SDF commander blames Iran, Turkey for fighting in Syria?
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mazlum Kobane told Amberin Zaman this week, in an exclusive interview for Al-Monitor, that the Syrian government, Iran and Turkey had instigated the recent fighting between Arab tribal and Kurdish forces in Kurdish-administered regions of northern Syria.
“They were tribal forces organized by the regime. Many were financed and armed by Iran,” Kobane told Zaman. “There were also regime officers among them, the regime’s intelligence officers. We captured four of those people. They are members of Al Difa Watani [a pro-government militia that formed with Iran’s help]. We are still investigating whether Iran-backed Shiite militia members were among those who penetrated our territory.”
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Despite blaming outside forces for the fighting, Kobane also acknowledged that “Arab grievances about governance and security were legitimate and needed to be urgently addressed in concert with local tribal leaders,” writes Zaman.
Meanwhile, Jared Szuba reports that Pentagon officials offered “muted reactions” to the fighting, given the friction in US-Turkey ties over American support for the SDF.?
“Privately,” writes Szuba, “American military officials express frustration with Turkey’s renewed attempts to undermine the US mission in Syria, but the Defense Department is taking a back seat in support of the Biden administration’s diplomatic approach.”??
Right flank has political chokehold on Netanyahu over Saudi deal?
Although Israel’s military and defense agencies support making a run at a full peace with Saudi Arabia, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is caught in a "political chokehold" by his right-wing coalition partners, writes Ben Caspit from Israel.?
“Unlike the security agencies, Netanyahu's?hard-line?coalition is strongly averse to the idea of?a Saudi-Israeli-Palestinian deal,” reports Caspit. “The two extreme right-wing parties in the coalition —?Religious Zionism, led by?Finance Minister?Bezalel Smotrich, who is also tasked with advancing Jewish settlement of the West Bank,?and Jewish Power, led by National Security Minister?Itamar?Ben-Gvir — see the Palestinian Authority as a bitter enemy that must be?vanquished. They have no intention of going along with any concessions?to the Palestinians.”?
Will BRICS threaten US dollar??
A key outcome of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, mainland China and South Africa) meeting in Johannesburg last month was an expansion of membership to include Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) starting next year. ??
The grouping is hardly an alliance or coalition, as some alarmists claim, but it bears watching, especially with three of the top US regional partners — Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — joining the group. Membership does “not require a policy or financial commitment, but rather signals a cohort of political economies open to different models of economic development and finance,” writes Karen Young for Al-Monitor Pro. “One of the political aspirations of the group is?to increase trade in currencies outside of the US dollar. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa requested that member states' finance ministers and central banks might work on reducing dollar use in trade, and to report on that progress at the next summit in 2024.”?
Al-Monitor, Semafor launch Middle East Global Summit?
Al-Monitor, the award-winning Middle East news service, and Semafor, the global media platform, will launch the Middle East Global Summit, an exclusive live event ?alongside the 78th United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York City. ?
The event will cover the major trends shaping the Middle East, including regional integration, energy transition, development, security and technology.
King Abdullah II of Jordan and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani of Iraq, as well as Biden administration officials, regional ministers, thought and business leaders, influencers, media and experts from the region and worldwide, will be featured on the program.?You can learn more about the conference, and register your interest, here.??