News Scan for Turkey, June 10th 2017

Qatar crisis should be resolved by end of month of Ramadan: President Erdoğan

Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan told Bahrain’s Foreign Minister that the dispute between Qatar and other Arab states should be resolved by the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on June 10.

Bahrain’s foreign minister paid a visit to Turkey on June 10 as tension between Qatar and prominent Gulf and Arab countries are continuing to escalate. Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and was received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/qatar-crisis-should-be-resolved-by-end-of-month-of-ramadan-president-erdogan.aspx?pageID=238&nID=114177&NewsCatID=510

Trump accuses Qatar of being ‘high level’ terrorism sponsor

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday accused Qatar of being a “high level” sponsor of terrorism, potentially hindering the U.S. Department of State’s efforts to ease heightening tensions and a blockade of the Gulf nation by Arab states and others.

“The nation of Qatar unfortunately has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “So we had a decision to make, do we take the easy road or do we finally take a hard but necessary action. We have to stop the funding of terrorism. I decided … the time had come to call on Qatar to end its funding,” Trump said, adding that he helped plan the Qatar action with Arab leaders after a recent summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/trump-accuses-qatar-of-being-high-level-terrorism-sponsor.aspx?pageID=238&nID=114168&NewsCatID=358

Turkish products hit shelves as blockade remains in Qatar

Turkish products are meeting high demand in stores across Qatar, which is facing an economic blockade from fellow Arab countries.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism. Saudi Arabia has also closed its land borders with Qatar, geographically isolating the tiny Gulf state. Qatar, for its part, has strenuously denied accusations that it is a supporter of terrorism, describing the moves to diplomatically isolate it as “unjustified”.

Amid the diplomatic row engulfing the Gulf state, Turkey stood by Qatar as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that “We will not abandon our Qatari brothers.” Turkish president also called on Riyadh to remove all sanctions on Doha and open diplomatic talks. Ankara further moved to send stockpiles of food and water supplies aboard cargo planes to the tiny Gulf country.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-products-hit-shelves-as-blockade-remains-in-qatar.aspx?pageID=238&nID=114175&NewsCatID=510

Turkey signs pact to prevent tax avoidance, evasion

The Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) was signed by ministers and high-level officials from 76 countries, including Turkey, on June 8 in Paris.

By signing a new international pact, Turkey has taken a key step forward to prevent tax avoidance and evasion by multinational enterprises, said Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek, who inked the deal on the behalf of Turkey.

“An instrument was developed to change the relevant articles of existing agreements with one convention instead of negotiating 3,000 agreements one by one,” Şimşek stated, adding that the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) should change several articles of double taxation agreements under the new pact.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-signs-pact-to-prevent-tax-avoidance-evasion–.aspx?pageID=238&nID=114146&NewsCatID=345

Women’s education vital for Turkish economy, says deputy PM

Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek emphasized the vital role that women’s education and participation in the workforce play in the Turkish economy. Şimşek, speaking at a panel discussion of an event organized by the Aziz Sancar Foundation, reminded the audience of the African saying, “Teach a boy and you teach an individual, teach a girl and you teach the whole family and the country.”

The event, called Girls in STEM – meaning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – aimed to encourage young women’s education and participation in these fields.

Şimşek noted that 49.8 percent of the Turkish population are women and that the country could not succeed without women active in science and technology.

https://www.dailysabah.com/economy/2017/06/10/womens-education-vital-for-turkish-economy-says-deputy-pm

Turkey to preserve its place among best-performing G20 countries

According to the Paris-based Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Turkish economy, which grew 2.9 percent last year, surpassing expectations, will be among the best performing countries in the G20 in 2017.

Moreover, the OECD raised its 2017 growth estimate for Turkey from 3.3 percent to 3.4 percent, according to the OECD Economic Outlook Report for June.

Accordingly, Turkey, which is projected to grow 4.4 percent in the Medium-Term Program this year, will rank fourth among 20 OECD member countries according to growth performance even if it completes the year with 3.4 percent growth as estimated by the OECD.

https://www.dailysabah.com/economy/2017/06/09/turkey-to-preserve-its-place-among-best-performing-g20-countries

Calls from Saudi Arabia and UAE to boycott products of Turkey amid Qatar crisis

Following Turkey’s decision to deploy troops to Qatar amid the current crisis, a campaign against Turkey was launched over social media.

Started firstly by Saudis and followed along with people from the UAE, the campaign called for boycotting Turkey by not buying items produced by Turkish firms, such as Ülker, Tamek, Pınar, Reis Gıda, Çaykur, Tadım, Dimes, etc.
Inclusion of Turkish rakı, wine, and beer among the items listed to be boycotted caught attention since both Saudi Arabia and UAE enforce bans on alcohol consumption based on religious beliefs.

http://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/calls-from-saudi-arabia-and-uae-to-boycott-products-of-turkey-amid-qatar-crisis-163961.html

10.062017
compiled by Editor BTT

This is a news-scan from major Turkish papers and internet sites. However, we do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.