{"id":29240,"date":"2018-01-19T19:09:08","date_gmt":"2018-01-19T19:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/?p=29240"},"modified":"2018-01-19T19:09:08","modified_gmt":"2018-01-19T19:09:08","slug":"ebrd-praises-but-urges-turkey-to-reform-and-stabilize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/ebrd-praises-but-urges-turkey-to-reform-and-stabilize\/","title":{"rendered":"EBRD praises but urges Turkey to reform and stabilize"},"content":{"rendered":"
It was not the most auspicious day to be talking about investment portfolios and new agreements.<\/p>\n
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) President, Sir Suma Chakrabarti\u2019s two-day long visit to the bank\u2019s largest country of operations could not have come at a worse time.<\/p>\n
Meetings with government officials and company representatives went according to plan and an agreement to make Turkey a benefactor of social projects was duly signed in the presence of President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan.<\/p>\n
President Chakrabarti\u2019s long-awaited visit coincided with the start of Turkey\u2019s assault on the Afrin region of neighbouring Syria.<\/p>\n
As the cross-border shelling intensified, with the Syrian government warning that Syrian air defenses would target the Turkish army, and the NATO partners began expressing their strong disapproval; Sir Suma\u2019s talk of bringing more foreign investors to Turkey somewhat lost its luster.<\/p>\n
Still, everyone put on a brave face and repeated their confidence for Turkey to remain as one of the top investment markets in the coming years.<\/p>\n
As President Erdogan reminded<\/a> at the signing ceremony, \u00a0Turkey has been a \u00a0founding member and a shareholder of the EBRD since 1991. It became a country of operations in 2009, and the EBRD has become a major investor in Turkey. It has been investing \u20ac10 billion across various sectors of the Turkish economy since then.<\/p>\n Turkey is now the EBRD\u2019s largest country of operations by annual investment volume. With an optimistic growth forecast of 3.5 percent in 2018, a strong level of investment is expected to continue.<\/p>\n During his two-day visit to Turkey, the EBRD President repeatedly emphasized<\/a> the importance of predictability, and the need for a stable and well-implemented legal and regulatory framework. He urged further structural reforms and strengthening the good governance at corporate and state organizations.<\/p>\n In an interview with Ipek Yezdani of Hurriyet Daily News<\/a> , Sir Suma listed stability, consistency, the rule of law and development of democratic institutions as important criteria for potential investors.<\/p>\n