Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey

Russia's trade sanctions against Turkey are a violation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), said a Turkish retired diplomat experienced in trade affairs, noting that the World Trade Organization could punish Moscow for its actions.

Syrian migrants are becoming an economic actor in Turkey not only in terms of their labor power but also their entrepreneurial skills, with the number of companies opened by Syrians increasing 40-fold between 2010 and 2014, according to new data. 

Other data suggests the trend is even accelerating more quickly this year. 

Kahramanmara?-based Maren Mara? Elektrik in southern Turkey has been named the fastest growing company in Turkey with a growth rate of 8,754 percent between 2011 and 2013 in a national ranking made by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB).

The company, owned by Kipa? Holding, mainly focuses on geothermal energy.

Turkey is at war with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), but did you know that this has happened before? Twice, actually. ISIL might be a new organization, but what it represents has been around for a few centuries. Our Ottoman forefathers squashed the menace before.

Turkey reaped the benefits of the reforms it undertook in 2000 for ten years and with the help of the global climate, reached high growth rates. Yet, for the past three or four years, there has been a stagnant economy; it has fallen in the middle income trap and serious changes are required to reach high growth rates again.

Turkey has been shaken by a new coal disaster in the wake of Soma, where 301 people lost their lives in May. After Soma, this time it was in Ermenek where 18 workers were trapped under water. Neither Soma nor Ermenek will be the first or the last.

With President Dr. Derviş Eroğlu repeatedly denying that talks with the Greek Cypriot side were in a deadlock and even Greek Cypriot opinion makers accusing Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades of becoming a “conservative Christofias” interested only in stalling tactics, a paper stressed the peace dividend would radically change communal and individual prospects.

The Chambers of Commerce from Turkey, Greece and Turkish and Greek Cyprus announced the creation of the joint commerce forum, namely the “Nicosia Economic Forum,” last Monday in Cyprus. This was their first meeting since 1974.