Saudi-Turkish Trade Summit Set for Istanbul in October

A ferry crosses the Bosphorus on a cloudy morning a day after heavy rains in Istanbul, Türkiye, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)
A ferry crosses the Bosphorus on a cloudy morning a day after heavy rains in Istanbul, Türkiye, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)
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Saudi-Turkish Trade Summit Set for Istanbul in October

A ferry crosses the Bosphorus on a cloudy morning a day after heavy rains in Istanbul, Türkiye, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)
A ferry crosses the Bosphorus on a cloudy morning a day after heavy rains in Istanbul, Türkiye, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)

The Türkiye Exporters Assembly, in coordination with the Turkish Ministry of Commerce, is organizing a Saudi-Turkish trade summit scheduled to take place on October 8-12.

The summit will feature the participation of 70 members from Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Chamber of Commerce.

Deputy Chairman of the Assembly Ahmet Gulec has invited Turkish exporters to actively engage in this trade summit.

He highlighted that a delegation from the Assembly, representing 43 companies operating in various sectors such as food, non-ferrous metals, textiles, ready-made garments, chemicals, and furniture, had accompanied Turkish Minister of Commerce, Omer Bolat, during his visit to Riyadh in July 2022.

Bolat held meetings with 150 Saudi businessmen during his visit.

He also met with the Kingdom’s Commerce Minister Majid Al-Qasabi, Investment Minister Khalid Al-Falih, Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Minister Majid Al-Hogail, and Industry and Mineral Wealth Minister Bandar AlKhorayef.

During a visit to Türkiye last month, Al-Hogail met with Bolat and held several other meetings with Turkish ministers and officials.

The Assembly, in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce, arranged visits to four different trade bodies in Riyadh, Al-Hogail said.

A delegation of Turkish businessmen had visited Riyadh on September 11-14, holding meetings with Saudi officials with the aim of enhancing bilateral trade. Multiple cooperation agreements were signed between the two parties.

In a statement on Saturday, the Assembly disclosed a fourfold increase in Turkish exports to Saudi Arabia in the past eight months compared to the same period last year, reaching a total of $1.6 billion.



ECB's Lagarde Rejects 'Political Pressure' after Italy Seeks Bigger Rate Cuts

President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde attends a press conference following an informal meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) and central bank heads of EU countries in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Tibor Illyes/MTI via AP)
President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde attends a press conference following an informal meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) and central bank heads of EU countries in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Tibor Illyes/MTI via AP)
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ECB's Lagarde Rejects 'Political Pressure' after Italy Seeks Bigger Rate Cuts

President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde attends a press conference following an informal meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) and central bank heads of EU countries in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Tibor Illyes/MTI via AP)
President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde attends a press conference following an informal meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) and central bank heads of EU countries in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (Tibor Illyes/MTI via AP)

The European Central Bank (ECB) is an independent institution not subject to any political pressure, its President Christine Lagarde said on Friday, rebuffing Italian calls for bigger interest rate cuts.

Two Italian government ministers had criticized the ECB on Thursday as the Frankfurt-based euro zone central bank cut its deposit rate by 25 basis points to 3.50%, and accused it of a lack of courage.

"The European Central Bank is an independent institution, it's very clearly stated in the treaties," Lagarde said at an informal meeting of EU economy ministers in Budapest.
"We are not subject to political pressure of any sort," she added, according to Reuters.
Italy, with the highest borrowing costs in the euro zone and the bloc's second highest public debt as a proportion of national output, has much to gain from a steep fall in ECB rates.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, one of the members of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government who spoke out against the ECB, also called for the bank's founding treaty to be reformed.
"Today the European Central Bank is only concerned with fighting inflation, (but) it is not enough, we need a central bank that can manage the currency to promote growth," Tajani said.
Speaking on Thursday, Lagarde suggested to reporters that the bar for another cut next month was relatively high, highlighting that policymakers would be unlikely to have enough data to determine whether further easing was appropriate.