Turkiye
In February, Turkiye was one of the most active countries in the Eastern Mediterranean. After Erdoğan’s reconfirmation as president last May, Ankara is looking for a new strategy in economic, domestic, and foreign policy. In this regard, on February 14 the Turkish president was received in Cairo by his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The international press described the meeting as "historic", marking a moment of easing tensions between the two countries. Relations between Ankara and Cairo had worsened in 2013 when al-Sisi, through a coup, ousted Erdoğan 's ally, Mohamed Morsi. Since then, the two countries have often found themselves supporting opposing factions in various regional conflicts, such as the one in Libya. Since October 7, however, Turkiye and Egypt reopened an official communication channel to support the population of Gaza and the Palestinian cause. This diplomatic effort culminated in the meeting, on February 14, during which Erdoğan referred to al-Sisi as his "esteemed brother." During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the dispatch of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the possibility of relocating civilians to Rafah. Erdoğan and al-Sisi’s project is to increase diplomatic and military cooperation, emphasizing the reconstruction of Gaza as a priority on their political agendas. At the end of the visit, the two presidents signed a joint statement to reinstate the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council and inked a series of agreements in the energy and defense sectors. The reconciliation between Ankara and Cairo represents a significant component for the regional stability of the Mediterranean.
The $23-billion sale of F-16 jets by the US to Turkiye is also a sign of Ankara’s new stance in foreign policy and was finalized after Sweden's to NATO. The agreement includes the 40 F-16 jets, together with ammunition and military equipment for the modernization of the Turkish armed forces. Both the U.S. Ambassador to Ankara, Jeff Flake, and Erdoğan expressed satisfaction with the decision, stating that "the sale of F-16s is crucial for NATO forces and will ensure greater interoperability among allies." At the end of the meeting, the creation of a Turkish-American joint venture in the defense sector in Texas was announced.
In the meantime, Turkiye is facing several challenges on the domestic front. On February 2, the governor of the Central Bank of Turkiye, Hafize Gaye Erkan, resigned. Just 7 months into her term, Erkan resigned following a family scandal brought to light by the opposition. With the governor's resignation, the Turkish lira weakened, losing 0.6% and depreciating to an exchange rate of 30 TRY = 1 USD, a historic low. Erdoğan accepted the resignation and, at the recommendation of Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, appointed Fatih Karahan, one of the three deputy directors of the Central Bank, as her replacement. The new governor is a highly credible figure for the international markets and, probably, he will continue the work started by Erkan. Erkan's resignation came at a delicate time for Turkish politics, just a few weeks before local elections. According to some polls, at end of February, the opposition candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu is leading over his AKP opponent, Murat Kurum, in Istanbul. The president has nominated Kurum, a former Minister of Environment, to regain one of the major Turkish cities lost in 2019 to the opposition (CHP). According to data released by ORC Research, İmamoğlu, the current mayor of Istanbul, is leading with 43.8% approval and Kurum's with 38.2%. İmamoğlu is considered Erdoğan 's most powerful political rival and faces imprisonment for insulting the Electoral Council in 2019. The ongoing trial could potentially lead to İmamoğlu's removal from political life just days before the elections.
Download the February 2024 report
On Wednesday, July 20, a Memorandum of Cooperation between Med-Or Foundation and the Center for Strategic Research of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey was signed.
A brief history of the Khazar Khaganate by Alessandro Giuli
Turkey’s economic and energy policies are linked to the country’s geopolitical ambitions in the Broader Mediterranean. A look at Ankara’s role in the region’s balance.
| Head of state | Recep Tayyip Erdoğan |
| Head of Government | Cevdet Yılmaz (Vice president) |
| Institutional Form | Unitary presidential constitutional republic |
| Capital | Ankara |
| Legislative Power | Unicameral National Assembly of Türkiye (Türkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi, 600 members) |
| Judicial Power | Constitutional Court, Court of Cassation, Council of State and the Court of Jurisdictional Disputes. The Constitutional Court judges are appointed by the President and the Parliament |
| Ambassador to Italy | Ömer Gücük |
| Total Area kmq | 783,562 km2 |
| Land | 769,632 km2 |
| Weather | Temperate; hot, dry summers with mild temperatures; wet winters; harsher climate in the inland |
| Natural resources | Coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite, borate, celestite, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite, pumice, pyrite (sulphur), clay, arable land, hydropower |
| Economic summary | A free market economy based on industry and the service sectors; the agricultural field still accounts around 25% of employment; heavily dependent on oil and gas imports, has adopt measures to increase the use of domestic energy sources. The economic crisis and the 80% inflation led Türkiye to obtain numerous foreign investments. |
| GDP | $815 billion (Dec. 2021) |
| Pro-capite GDP (Purchasing power parity) | $13251 (Dec. 2021) |
| Exports | $177 billion (2020) |
| Export partner | Germany 9.25, UK 7.2%, United States 5.81%, Iraq 5.18%, Italy 4.66%, France 4.16% (2020) |
| Imports | $207 billion (2020) |
| Import partner | Germany 11.5%, China 10.74%, Russia 6.29%, United States 5.15%, Italy 4.31% (2020) |
| Trade With Italy | $ 22,68 billion (2021) |
| Population | 83.047.706 (2022) |
| Population Growth | +0,67% (2022) |
| Ethnicities | Turks 70-75%, Kurds 18%, other minorities 17% |
| Languages | Turkish (official language), Kurdish, minority languages |
| Religions | Muslims 99.8% (mainly Sunnis), 0.2% mainly Christians and Jews |
| Urbanization | 77% (2022) |
| Literacy | 96,7% |
Born in 1922, after the overthrow of Sultan Mehmet VI, the Republic of Turkey inherited the core part of the Ottoman Empire, which had been greatly reduced after the First World War. Like the old Ottoman Empire, the modern Republic of Turkey stretches over two continents, with the westernmost part of the country, Thrace, in Europe, and the rest of the country occupying the Anatolian Peninsula in Asia. Thrace and Anatolia are separated by the Bosphorus Strait, which links the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and, by extension, to the Aegean Sea, through the Dardanelles Strait. Turkey is bordered by four seas: the Levant (Mediterranean) Sea to the South, the Marmara and the Aegean seas to the west/south-west and the Black Sea to the north. The country shares its land borders with Greece to the west, Bulgaria to the north-west, Georgia to the north-east, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran to the east, Iraq and Syria to the south-east. The population is about 83 million, 99 percent of whom are Sunnis. About 18 percent of the population has Kurdish origins and lives in the eastern part of the country. There are also small Christian and Jewish minorities. The official language is Turkish.
Thanks to its geographic position, Turkey is one of the gateways to the Mediterranean and the Near East, and has been for centuries a hub for trade and cultural exchanges. For all these reasons, Turkey plays a central role in the broader Mediterranean and it is the only country in the Near East to be a member of NATO, since 1952.
Over the last few decades, Turkey has experienced significant economic growth in a wide range of industrial sectors, ranging from high-tech to manufacturing and agribusiness. With the recent discovery of large off-shore energy fields, Turkey has strongly promoted its national energy industry, with the aim to meet domestic demand and become a key exporter, especially in the gas sector. Italy is Turkey's second largest European trading partner, with an estimated total trade of $ 22,61 billion in 2021. In addition to trade and investment in the agri-food sector, the two countries also cooperate in the energy supply sector, through the construction of several pipelines. Thanks to its important relations with Turkey, Italy plays a prominent role mediating between Ankara and the European Union.
