Republic of Turkey

• Key facts
• Overview
• History
• Security
• Political situation
• Economic situation
• Bilateral relationship
• Trade access issues
• Visits
• Representation
• Travel advice

Key facts

Geography/Demographics

Official Name – Republic of Turkey – Land Area - 779,454 sq km (35% arable, 26% forestry) – Population – 71.9 million (2008 estimate)– Capital City – Ankara – Religion – Islam (but constitutionally a secular republic) – Language - Turkish

 

Political

Political system - Republican Parliamentary Democracy – National government - Justice and Development Party (AKP) – National legislature - Unicameral Meclis (parliament) of 550 members elected for a five-year term.  Only parties getting more than 10% of the national vote are represented in Parliament, though Independent members can be elected directly from constituencies provided they secure more than 10% of the local vote.  Remaining seats are allocated in proportion to the share of the vote – Last election – 22 July 2007– Next election due – July 2011 – Head of State - President Abdullah Gul, elected for a 7 year term, August 2007. The President is elected by the Meclis by a two-thirds majority on the first two ballots or a simple majority on the third ballot– Head of Government - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan – Key Ministers - (from 1 May 2009) - Deputy Prime Ministers and Ministers of State - Cemil Çiçek, Bülent Arinç, Ali Babacan - Foreign Affairs - Ahmet Davutoglu - Finance Minister - Mehmet Simsek - Minister of Defence -Vecdi Gönül - Labor and Social Security Minister (responsible for NZ-Turkey Joint Economic Consultations) - Ömer Dinçer.

Economic

GDP - US$490.490 billion (2007 EIU estimate) - Real GDP growth – 3.9% (2007 EIU estimate) – Exports - US$113.155 billion (2007) – Imports – US$160.653 billion (2007) - Current account balance - -US$37.996 billion (2007) – Inflation - 8.2% (Jan 2008) - Gross external debt - US$238.8 billion (2007 EIU estimate)

New Zealand Trade

NZ Exports (FOB) – NZ$61.7 million (for the year to December 2008) – Main Exports - Wool (23%), raw skins, sheep (16%); food preparations (7%) - NZ Imports (CIF) – NZ$118 million (for the year to December 2008) – Main Imports - Trucks and vans (23%); grapes (10%); dried fruit (6%); public transport vehicles (5%)  

 

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Overview

The Republic of Turkey is strategically placed between Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, and shares borders with Greece, Bulgaria, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Iraq and Syria. Turkey is a secular state following the path envisaged by the first President, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Turkey has a large emigrant population overseas, particularly in Europe (Germany, Belgium) and Libya. Muslims make up 98% of the Turkish population.

New Zealand and Turkey have a warm political relationship, based on the shared history of the Gallipoli Campaign. The annual Gallipoli commemorations in Turkey constitute one of the largest annual off-shore gatherings of New Zealanders and Australians and attendance has grown dramatically in recent years. There have been a number of high-level visits to Turkey in recent years.

History

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk founded the Turkish Republic in 1923. Until his death in 1938 he worked on establishing Turkey as a Western-oriented, secular, unified state. These values have remained a core unifying element of the establishment, and are particularly revered by the military, who view their role as protecting the Turkish State from threats to these values. It was on this basis that the military took power from civilian rulers in 1960, 1971 and 1980.

The formation in July 1996 of a coalition Government by the Welfare (Refax) Party led by Prime Minister Erbakan was a watershed in Turkish politics. This was the first time since Turkey’s establishment as a modern secular state in 1923 that a party reputed to have Islamist tendencies held the office of Prime Minister. The government was forced to resign after 11 months due to pressure from the secular military. The secular nature of Turkish politics was reinforced when the Constitutional Court banned the Welfare Party in January 1998 and barred its leaders from politics for five years. A new coalition government of the left and right was formed and ruled until early elections were held in November 2002. A landslide election brought the Justice and Development Party (AKP) (formed from the ashes of the Welfare Party) into power in November 2002, following the collapse of Bulent Ecevit’s coalition government.

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Political situation

The voting system in Turkey has often resulted in short-lived coalition governments.  However, in late 2002 a single party (AKP), for the first time in over a decade, managed to secure an overwhelming majority of the seats in parliament (Meclis), which brought increased political stability.  Despite this victory, the AKP’s Chairman, the charismatic and popular former mayor of Istanbul Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was unable to take a seat in the Meclis, and to become Prime Minister, because of a conviction for “inciting religious hatred” through remarks made in a speech in 1998.  The conviction resulted in a ban from standing for parliament that was not removed until the Meclis passed a constitutional amendment in March 2003 that cleared the way for him to be elected and thus to take over as prime minister. 

In the July 2007 general elections the AKP was again the outright winner and increased its share of the national vote to 46.6%, from 34% and thereby retaining its absolute majority (340 seats out of 550) in parliament.  The party’s position relative to the main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), was further strengthened through the election by the Meclis of Abdullah Gül, the then deputy leader of the AKP, to the presidency in August 2007.

In February 2008 the government introduced a constitutional amendment to remove the ban on the wearing of headscarves by women at state universities.  The right of women to wear the headscarf became a symbol of the ongoing divide between secularists and some Muslims in Turkey and was hotly debated.  The opposition CHP challenged the move in the Constitutional Court, arguing that the proposed amendments threatened the secular nature of the state.  The Court upheld the CHP’s view and the ban on the wearing of headscarves in the public service and universities remains.

A month later the chief prosecutor, Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya, filed a lawsuit against the AKP with the Constitutional Court, alleging the party was attempting to subvert the secular state.  The lawsuit sought to close down the AKP and ban 71 of its members, including Prime Minister Erdogan and President Gül, from politics.  The Court delivered its verdict on 30 July 2008, deciding instead to halve the amount of state funding received by the AKP, and thereby averting the damage which closure would have caused Turkey’s democratic credentials.

In April 2008 parliament finally approved amendments to controversial Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code 2005.  This, along with other articles, had been used to prosecute leading intellectuals for their opinions since 2003.  Under the new article, insults against the “Turkish Nation” or the “Republic of Turkey” are still criminal offences, although the applicable prison sentence has been reduced and “criticism” is not deemed punishable.  In addition, the decision to charge a person under Article 301 now requires the approval of the Minister of Justice.

The AKP retains significant popular support in Turkey, although its support fell to 39% of the nationwide vote in the March 2009 local body elections, overshadowed by the global economic crisis.  These elections were followed by a major reshuffle of Cabinet effective from 1 May - the first significant reshuffle since the 2002 elections. More radical than was generally expected, the reshuffle reflected PM Erdogan’s determination to reinvigorate the party in readiness for the general elections, scheduled for July 2011.

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Economic situation

The AKP government has pursued an economic policy that has been broadly tailored to maintaining macroeconomic stability (following an earlier financial crisis in 2001/02), enhancing competitiveness and attracting further foreign direct investment.  Economic reform in Turkey has been wide-ranging: interest rates have been brought down, government indebtedness has been reduced, the public service has been pruned, and some elements of commercial law have been reformed.  The government made efforts to reduce its role in the economy by removing price controls and encouraging competition in economic sectors dominated by state entities. 

After a serious economic crisis in 2000/01, Turkey benefited from the abundance of global liquidity, pragmatic economic policies and by having EU and International Monetary Fund “anchors” (ie reforms associated with the EU accession process, and the IMF agreement in place for the last eight years which forced the government to be fiscally responsible).  Economic growth from 2002-07 averaged 7% and GDP nearly trebled (190%) to US$660 billion.  Turkey is now in absolute terms the 17th largest economy in the world and the 6th largest in Europe.  During this period, gross government debt was reduced from about 90% of GDP to under 40%.  Foreign Direct Investment increased from US$3.4 billion in 2001 to US$21.9 billion in 2007

By the middle of 2007 Turkey’s economy started to show signs of weakness, not helped by a serious drought in 2007, and high energy and food prices. The two main areas of macroeconomic concern are high unemployment, which began to rise above 10%, and a large current account deficit.  Inflation has remained stubbornly above 10% despite the Central Bank keeping interest rates high for the past five years to bring inflation down to its target of 4%.

Turkey has been hit hard by the economic headwinds affecting the global economy.  Fourth quarter GDP for 2008 was -6.2% - the second most severe contraction world-wide after Taiwan.  The IMF forecast the Turkish economy would shrink by 1.5 percent in 2009. The Turkish government’s own forecasts put the expected contraction at 3.6 percent in 2009 before rebounding by 3.3 percent in 2010.  Industrial production figures for February 2009 were the worst on record, contracting by nearly a quarter (-23.7%) year-on-year. The worst hit sector was automotives, which contracted nearly 60% in February. Unemployment, which had reached a low-point in mid 2007 at around 9.7%, topped 13.7% in January 2009 to exceed the levels of the economic crises of 1994 and 2001. 

The Government has announced a series of stimulus packages (such as a reduction in sales tax on building purchases, furniture and machinery from 18% to 8% for three months) and PM Erdogan has said it will take more steps to revive the economy if necessary.  But it is constrained by the size of the current account deficit.  The government has been negotiating with the IMF for a roll-over of a standby loan which expired in May 2008, but this would require agreement over conditions, such as fiscal disciplines and other reforms the IMF would stipulate.

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Foreign Policy

Situated at the crossroads between East and West, Turkey’s main foreign policy priority since the days of the Ottoman Empire has been to maintain its own stability and territorial integrity – focussing on the preservation of its borders to the east, the prevention of Russian encroachment to the north, and the expansion of relations with Europe.  Although Turkey was neutral from 1924 to 1944, it has been aligned with the West since 1947 and it joined NATO in 1952. 

Since the end of the Cold War Turkey has moved to build on its central location by seeking to develop linkages with the five (Turkic) central Asian republics, and more recently with Asian countries. Turkey has made a priority of cementing good links with its neighbours, as well as building ties with the Islamic world and positioning itself as a mediating influence in the Middle East. It is also reaching out to countries further afield, in Africa and the Asia Pacific region. Key policy goals are to join the EU and to ensure a good relationship with the US.

Entry into the European Union has been an objective of successive Turkish governments. To accede to the EU, Turkey must bring its legislation into line with the body of EU rules, known as the acquis communautaire. This will require Turkey to reform its economic and political system, implement EU human rights legislation, and put limitations on the military’s strong political role.

EU membership negotiations commenced in October 2005 and accession talks formally began in June the following year with the opening of the first of the 35 chapters scheduled for negotiation. Turkey’s troubled relations with Cyprus however have directly impacted on its EU membership negotiations.  The European Commission decided at its meeting in December 2006 to suspend negotiations on eight chapters, assessing Turkey had not fully implemented its agreed obligations regarding the extension of the Customs Union to new members. (Turkey is refusing to open its ports and airports to Greek Cypriot vessels and aircraft unless the latter undertakes similar concessions in relation to Northern Cyprus). The Commission also recommended that "no chapter be provisionally closed until the Commission has confirmed that Turkey has fully implemented its commitments”.

Turkish troops have been stationed in Northern Cyprus since 1974, when the Turkish government invaded in response to Greek Cypriots’ attempts to unify with Greece.  Turkey partitioned the island that year, but has failed to win international recognition for the self-declared republic in the northern part of the island inhabited mostly by Turkish Cypriots.  A United Nations peacekeeping force patrols the partition line and the UN and the Commonwealth have made repeated efforts to broker a solution to the conflict. Former New Zealand Minister Dame Ann Hercus was the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative in Cyprus from 1998 to 1999.  Former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is current the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus. 

Turkey has traditionally had a strong bilateral relationship with the United States, including stationing of US personnel in Turkey for strategic purposes.  In 2003, the new AKP Government was faced with a significant foreign policy challenge over whether to extend the arrangement to allow US forces to operate from Turkish soil in support of the military campaign in Iraq.  But public sentiment was overwhelmingly opposed to this and the Government failed to secure parliamentary support to accommodate the US basing request and for the deployment of Turkish forces to Iraq.  Both sides now say bilateral tensions from the Turkish decision not to send troops to Iraq are in the past. 

President Obama visited Turkey in April 2009 as part of his first official visit overseas.  The visit was seen in Turkey as marking a new chapter in its relationship with the US and was considered a clear success in terms of style and message, underlining the US’s view of Turkey’s geostrategic importance.   The visit also underscored the value placed by the US on its relationship with Turkey as a “secular democracy” that happens to be Islamic.

Turkey was the first country of a majority Muslim population to contribute to the expanded United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Turkey is actively engaged with Israel, Syria and other countries in the Middle East, reflecting Ankara’s determination to play a constructive role in helping to mediate tensions in the region.

There have been signs that relations were improving between Armenia and Turkey ever since President Gül attended an Armenian/Turkish World Cup qualifying football match in Armenia’s capital Yerevan in September last year (the first visit by a Turkish leader to Armenia).  Since then, intense discussions have occurred at all levels between the governments of Armenia and Turkey, with the possible outcome an historic reconciliation between two traditional enemies divided by strategic differences in the Caucasus and by the Ottoman Empire’s killing of Armenians in 1915. 

Turkey is currently a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. It is a member of NATO and maintains one of the largest standing armies in the world.  As a result, its defence spending places a heavy burden on both the government budget and the balance of payments.  Turkey has been engaged in Afghanistan, having led the UN-authorised International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), for six months in 2002-3 and again from February to August 2005.  It established a Provincial Reconstruction Team in November 2006, in Wardak, the province next to Bamyan, where New Zealand’s PRT is based.  Turkey also plays an active role in the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) and the Alliance of Civilisations, an interfaith forum New Zealand also participates in.

Turkey has taken the lead in forming a Black Sea Economic Cooperation region, which includes, among others, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Greece, Albania, Armenia and Azerbaijan.  The long term aim for the group is to construct a free trade zone.

In the Asia Pacific, Turkey has sought to develop its links with Muslim countries. It is also interested in economic opportunities provided by China. A trade strategy has been developed for the Asia Pacific, which includes New Zealand and Australia.  Further afield Turkey declared 2005 the “year of Africa” and obtained African Union observership.