Founded upon sustainability initiatives, Türkiye’s Vision 2023 and Vision 2053 are well underway, promoting sustainable growth, redefining the national economic plan, and solidifying bilateral relations with the Middle East.
“We should think about a more luminous future together, act together, and unite to achieve it for common benefits.” These resounding words from H.E. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Expo 2020 Dubai encapsulate Türkiye’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and its ambitions for the future while an 11% growth in 2021 has made it among the fastest-growing economies. President Erdoğan’s new economic model, which has set a US$250 billion export target, will ensure that Türkiye achieves sustainable growth and reduces its dependence on imports. A new financial alternative to quell citizens’ concerns over exchange rates in addition to lowering interest and inflation rates is among the model’s strengths that will impact Türkiye’s sustainable growth trajectories.
Achieving sustainability in all areas including agriculture, energy, the environment, and the economy is a top priority for Türkiye’s future. The nation recently declared the launch of its Green Development Revolution, which will raise Türkiye to new levels in every field from industry to exports through a focus on environmentally friendly and sustainable production with the most sophisticated technologies. “From now on, we will realize all investments in our country with this approach,” says the president.
President Erdoğan’s visit to the 2020 Expo Dubai this year was also a demonstration of the strategic partnership between the United Arab Emirates and Türkiye. Tugay Tunçer, H.E. Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Abu Dhabi, explains, “We laid the foundations for future collaboration by signing two dozen agreements in the fields of economy, finance, energy, petrochemistry, technology, transportation, infrastructure, health, environment, food and agriculture, culture, youth, media, and communication, as well as defense industries. We are pleased that the defining terms for Türkiye-UAE relations have now become cooperation and collaboration.” The UAE has also allocated US$10 billion for investments in Türkiye in various strategic sectors, highlighting the economic prospects and development between the countries. President Erdoğan says, “Our mutual goal is to carry our bilateral relations to much higher levels in all areas.” As Türkiye is at a crossroads of continents, it is in a powerful position to build bridges between nations as sectors such as technology, tourism, and real estate help realize its growth objectives.
“As a natural bridge between East and West and the North-South axes, Türkiye is an efficient and cost-effective hub to major markets, offering easy access to 1.3 billion people and US$26 trillion worth of trade volume with a four-hour flight radius.”
H.E. Tugay Tunçer, Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Abu Dhabi
As technology-based economies strengthen, Türkiye is positioned to drive technology into different sectors to demonstrate its high potential. Türkiye will produce critical technologies to transform itself into a production base for global technological products, a move that is founded upon generating value for humanity’s benefit. Çağlayan Çetin, President of Trendyol, says, “Technology enables everything. Türkiye has realized the potential of its young population and technology by ensuring that many industries are focused on providing tech-enabled jobs for tech engineers, which create very strong startups.” Egem Eraslan, CEO of Midas confirms, “The resilience and agility of Turkish startups are numerically proven. The funds invested in Turkish startups in 2021 were higher than the past 10 years combined, while the funds invested in the first quarter of 2022 are already as high as that figure. This statistic should capture the metric-oriented investors’ attention.”
President Erdoğan has acknowledged that a growing economic and digital culture requires the rapid construction and dissemination of new infrastructure technologies and investments. Undoubtedly, Türkiye is prepared to lead this technology initiative. Demirhan Büyüközcü, CEO of V-Count, states, “Over the years, Türkiye has been investing in technology and today has a very interesting fintech sector as well as a very solid engineering background and strong universities. We have lots of sensors like Ultima AI and lots of IoT solutions that are powering lots of verticals as well.”
The tourism sector is one of Türkiye’s main sources of revenue. Even in 2020, Türkiye welcomed 16 million tourists and US$12.4 billion in revenue amid the coronavirus pandemic. In the coming year, the nation has a goal of 75 million tourists and US$35 billion in revenue. Timucin Güler, Director General for Promotion and Board Member of Tourism Promotion Agency (TGA) states, “We believe Türkiye will reach and exceed the 2019 tourist numbers and revenue by 2023, becoming one of the countries that recovered the fastest after the pandemic.” Türkiye’s impressive growth post-pandemic is a strong signal of the prosperity to come for the nation. Yalçın Lokmanhekim, General Manager of TGA, adds, “Undoubtedly, the extraordinary year we had in tourism plays an important role in Türkiye’s growth. The export and tourism sectors will contribute to economic growth in 2022, as well.” Nebi Ozan Özdemir, Hotel Manager of Six Senses, adds, “Türkiye is leading the market in clients arriving from Middle Eastern nations like Qatar and the UAE. Like the US, the UK, and the rest of Europe are opening again, these countries will be targeted for 2022 because they love to visit Türkiye.”
Tourism and related sectors, including the hotel industry, serve as the face of the nation and its potential as it welcomes foreign investors to Türkiye. Vedat Aşçı, Chairman of Astaş Holding, confirms, “There is a lot of potential for investments. Türkiye is developing quickly, and we serve as a production base for Europe and the world. We are a bridge between Asia and Europe; we can deliver timely transportation, production, raw material, tourism, luxury business, and real estate.”
As a result of international investment, rising residential property sales have seen upward growth. Özcan Tahincioğlu, Chairman of Tahincioglu, says, “Türkiye is attracting a lot of foreign investors into real estate as a gateway to the Middle East and Europe.” The acceleration of real estate sales proves that the demand is driven by need, where a metropolitan city like Istanbul is an increasingly appealing investment destination. Hakan Gedikli, General Manager of Emlak Konut, confirms, “One-fifth of the entire Turkish population lives in Istanbul, so the opportunities are great. It’s a dynamic, passionate city, and the purchasing power is great for foreigners. If you want to invest in real estate in Türkiye, now is the time.”
Türkiye has created a favorable environment for investments and partnerships both domestically and internationally, where its dedication to technology, a growing tourism sector, and healthy real estate market have opened the doors for investors. Çağlar Göğüş, CEO of Doğan Holding, says, “Quantitatively, Türkiye still brings the highest returns compared to risks across Europe. Strategically, it has a great location and a very investment-friendly environment.” In addition, Türkiye’s Visions 2023 and 2053, its new economic plan, bilateral relations with the UAE, and the Green Development Revolution only assure that sustainable growth is a certainty of the future.
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