Türkiye: July's Political & Economic Headlines

For businesses, operators and investors with a link to Türkiye, here's a recap of the country's political & economic headlines in July.

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Main Headlines

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→ It’s all about jet-deals

Turkey signed major 48 KAAN fighter jet export deal with Indonesia, marking Turkey's biggest defence export, while it signed MoU with UK to buy 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets. Germany approved the export license for the UK-Turkey jet deal (Reuters)

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→ Positive Central Bank messages

Finance Minister Simsek forecasted strong rebound from 2024 crisis, with the economy targeting 3% growth and sub-29% inflation. Came as central bank cuts interest rate 300bp to 43%, first reduction since March as inflation cools (Reuters)  (Reuters)

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→ UK-Turkey finalised first rounds of FTA negotiations

UK and Turkey launched enhanced FTA negotiations, with discussions covering sustainability, regulatory environments of both countries and service trade (including digital, financial and professional services). Next round of talks scheduled for autumn 2025. (UK Government)

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In foreign relations news

→ Russia and Ukraine agree to swap 1,200+ prisoners at Istanbul talks but ceasefire remains deadlocked (Al Jazeera)

→ Iran nuclear negotiations with UK, France and Germany took place in Istanbul as UN’s October sanctions deadline looms (Reuters)

→ Erdogan and Macron call for immediate Gaza ceasefire, whilst deputy FM co-chairs UN working group condemning Israeli occupation as main Palestinian statehood obstacle (Anadolu Agency) (Anadolu Agency)

→ Erdogan reaffirms Cyprus two-state solution and demands international recognition of Northern Cyprus (Al Arabiya)

→ Leaks suggest Turkey held secret maritime negotiations with Syria over Mediterranean economic zone to protect Turkish and Northern Cypriot claims, following Assad’s fall (Nordic Monitor)

→ Erdogan holds bilateral talks with five Economic Cooperation Organization leaders advancing regional climate and infrastructure projects (Anadolu Agency)

→ Erdogan launches historic peace talks with pro-Kurdish DEM MPs marking renewed reconciliation efforts as 30 PKK fighters publicly disarm in Iraq and Erdogan declares "new page", establishing Peace Commission (Reuters) (Al Monitor)

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In wider business & foreign trade news

→ Turkey and EU commit to customs modernisation and increased investment at July 25th’s Istanbul summit (European Commission)

→ Turkey-Qatar free trade agreement takes effect targeting $5B bilateral commerce, 5x from current levels (Anadolu Agency)

→ Kazakhstan and Turkey set $10B trade target (2x from 2024's $5B volume) with new cooperation agreements (Hürriyet Daily News)

→ Turkey to begin delivering 3.4M m³ daily of Azerbaijani gas to Syria from August (Reuters)

→ Turkey presses Iraq to guarantee full 1.5M bpd utilisation of Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline in upcoming negotiations (Reuters)

→ Turkish exporters host Cameroon B2B forum in Douala promoting textiles, food and machinery exports (CTBCCameroon)

→ Azerbaijan's Aliyev family reportedly invests $585M in 50% stake of Mandarin Oriental Bodrum hotel (Turkiye Today)

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In domestic affairs

→ Turkey adopts first comprehensive Climate Law establishing 2053 net-zero target and ETS system (ClientEarth)

→ Parliament cuts mining permit wait time by 30 months on agricultural land sparking environmental protests (Hurriyet Daily News)

→ Vehicle tax overhaul pushes tax rates between 70-220% for petrol cars and minimum 25% for EVs (Reuters)

→ Turkey legalises medical cannabis production and pharmacy sales under strict regulatory oversight (Huriyet Daily News)

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There's the recap of July's major headlines.

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