Turkey’s Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has recently called upon Turks living abroad to increase their investments in Turkey, as a means of boosting the country’s feeble economy. Labor Ministry statistics show that over 3.5 million Turks reside outside their homeland, 1.2 million of which are of working age, reported AFP.
Most Turkish expatriates presently live in Europe—two million in Germany and 311,000 in France—while Australia is home to 134,000 Turks. The number of Turks living in North America stands at a mere 130,000.
At a press conference, Ecevit publicly stated that government hopes to remove many of the obstacles that presently harm the investment atmosphere in Turkey. The political and financial crisis that struck Turkey in February forced the government to float the Turkish lira.
The move triggered a sharp devaluation of the currency, as the lira lost more than 50 percent of its value against the dollar. Presently, the exchange rate stands at 1,396,000 Turkish liras to the dollar. Turkey reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in April on a strict reform program to stabilize the economy. — (Mena Report)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
