News Scan for Turkey, July 5th 2016
News Scan for Turkey, July 5th 2016
Turkey celebrates Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr
Muslims in Turkey, along with other Muslim populations around the world, are celebrating the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr on July 5, marking the end of 30 days of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.
The Turkish authorities declared a nine-day public holiday starting from July 2 for Eid al-Fitr. It had been planned to officially start on July 5 and end on July 7, but Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım signed a circular saying that July 8 would also be a holiday, thus declaring a nine-day public holiday including the preceding and following weekends.
The Islamic holy month of Ramadan began on June 6, with many Muslims in Turkey eating only between sunset and sunrise, until July 4.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/
Turkish government vows to lure more foreign investment
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım announced the details of a planned economic package to lure more foreign capital and improve Turkey’s investment climate in a speech on July 4.
“We are talking about a comprehensive economic package which touches each part of society and eases life for investors,” he said, noting that the package being prepared includes radical reforms in a bid to lure more investments. He also added “There will be regulations that will decrease the stamp tax and other costs for investors. In contracts, the stamp tax and the notary fee will be charged for only one copy. This is of great importance for potential investors as we will be ceasing to execute a 52-year-old practice which raises costs for investors”.
Yıldırım noted that any foreign company would be exempted from corporate taxes if it sets up its regional management hub in Turkey, adding that the regional hub staff’s wages would also be exempted from taxes if transferred from abroad.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-government-vows-to-lure-more-foreign-investment.aspx?pageID=238&nID=101226&NewsCatID=345
Erdoğan prepares to offer citizenship to Syrian refugees
Speaking in Kilis, a town in southern Turkey that has seen its population doubled by those fleeing the civil war in neighbouring Syria, the Pressident Erdoğan said that the country’s interior ministry was taking steps to offer citizenship to those who wanted it.
“Tonight, I want to give some good news to my brothers and sisters here,” he said at a meal to break the Ramadan fast attended by Syrian refugees. “Among our brothers and sisters, I believe there are those who would like to obtain citizenship of the Turkish Republic. Our interior ministry is taking steps in that regard.” He added: “Turkey is your home, too.”
Mr Erdogan did not specify whether all of the 2.7m refugees registered as living in Turkey would be able to apply for citizenship, nor did he set out the eligibility criteria or how long the process would take. While Turkey announced in January that it would grant Syrians the right to apply for work permits if their employer will sponsor them, human rights groups say that uptake has been minimal.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/03/turkey-to-offer-citizenship-to-syrian-refugees.html
Russia’s investment relations with Turkey will be restored: Report
Russian Economic Development Minister Alexey Ulyukayev has said that trade and investment relations between Turkey and Russia will be restored, according to a TASS report.
“Trade and investment relations with Turkey will be restored,” he said in an interview with Gazeta.ru, as TASS has reported on July 1.
The minister also said that, in his opinion, before the end of this year relations between Russia and European countries would also change. “The European sanctions are ultimate story I think there is a high degree of probability that a decision about on their serious modification will be made by the end of this year,” he said.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/russias-investment-relations-with-turkey-will-be-restored-report.aspx?PageID=238&NID=101175&NewsCatID=345
Turkey to face a difficult period, if oil prices rally: IEA
Turkey is among countries which secured some “positive effects” over the drop in oil prices but measures should be taken considering that “prices would not remain constant” economist and energy expert Fatih Birol (Executive Director of the International Energy Agency) told Doğan News Agency (DHA) in an interview, on the sidelines of the 7th International Energy and Climate Forum organized by Sabancı University Istanbul International Center for Energy and Climate (IICEC).
Birol listed countries in three categories, depending on how they were affected by the decrease in oil prices. Fatih Birol described economies of Saudi Arabia, Russia and United Arab Emirates that are mostly dependent on oil revenues as countries which were “negatively affected” by the drop in prices, as their economies “weakened” after the developments. He added that Nigeria, Azarbaijan, Venezuela and some other African countries had “the most significant damage” while most of them encounter “bankrupt” in their economies at the moment.
http://www.dha.com.tr/turkey-to-face-a-difficult-period-if-oil-prices-rally-iea_1254451.html
Turkish ship carrying aid for Gaza arrives at Ashdod
A Turkish ship carrying aid for Gaza has arrived in Israel, a week after Turkey and Israel agreed to restore ties that soured over a deadly raid on an aid flotilla in 2010.
The Panama-flagged Lady Leyla container vessel docked at Ashdod port on Sunday afternoon after departing on Friday. Its contents were to be unloaded, inspected and sent to the Gaza Strip which is under an Israeli blockade and has been hit by three wars with Israel since 2008.
The ship was carrying 11,000 tonnes of supplies including food packages, flour, rice, sugar and toys, the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency reported. The aid is expected to reach Gaza in a few days.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/turkish-ship-carrying-aid-gaza-arrives-ashdod-160703152844113.html
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.
05.07.2016
compiled by Editor BTT
