Turkey to Announce Record Growth of 7%

Turkey's Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci makes a speech in Cologne, Germany, March 5, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
Turkey's Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci makes a speech in Cologne, Germany, March 5, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
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Turkey to Announce Record Growth of 7%

Turkey's Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci makes a speech in Cologne, Germany, March 5, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
Turkey's Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci makes a speech in Cologne, Germany, March 5, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci expected that the total economic growth of 2017 would be announced as seven percent and that Turkey would come among the most growing countries globally. Zeybekci, in Sunday’s statements, said that the economic growth would be seven percent, and is forecast to reach record figures in 2018.

Official figures haven’t been announced yet, but the Turkish economy growth during the third quarter raised expectations of growth during the whole year (7.4 percent).

Zeybekci noted that he announced in the beginning of 2017 that the economy will be in the lead of most growing countries, and it did reach 11.1 percent in the third quarter of 2017 despite the global rating agencies forecasts that the rate would not exceed 2 or 2.5 percent, in best-case scenarios 5 percent.

Turkish economy witnessed a shrinkage of 4.7 percent in 2009, then achieved a 6.8 percent growth in the period extending from 2010 to 2016. At that time, Turkish growth surpassed that of the EU and G20 respectively 1.4 percent and 3 percent.

The highest growth rate was in 2011 (11.1 percent) and the lowest was in 2016 (2.3 percent), following the failed coup attempt mid-July.

In the same context, global rating agency Fitch Ratings expected Turkey’s economy to grow by 4.8 percent annually on average in the next five years. In its report titled “Investment and Demographics Key to EM Growth Potential,” Fitch provided a list of the 10 largest emerging markets in the world, in which Turkey ranked third in its forecast economic growth rate (4.8 percent).

India came on top among the 10 emerging markets in the report with a potential growth rate of 6.7 percent in the next five years. China and Indonesia jointly ranked second, both with a projected potential growth rate of 5.5 percent.

On another level, the Turkish Central Bank’s gold reserves have reached a record-high of 564.8 tons. Total reserves including foreign exchange and gold reached $107.7 billion in value at the end of 2017, up $1.6 billion from a year earlier.



North Korea Bars Western Influencers from Trade Fair Tour

North Korea has barred Western influencers from joining tourists to an international trade fair, a China-based tour operator said. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
North Korea has barred Western influencers from joining tourists to an international trade fair, a China-based tour operator said. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
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North Korea Bars Western Influencers from Trade Fair Tour

North Korea has barred Western influencers from joining tourists to an international trade fair, a China-based tour operator said. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP
North Korea has barred Western influencers from joining tourists to an international trade fair, a China-based tour operator said. STR / KCNA VIA KNS/AFP

North Korea has barred Western influencers from joining a delegation of tourists to an international trade fair in October, a China-based tour operator told AFP on Monday.

Diplomatically isolated North Korea has welcomed sporadic groups of international visitors in recent months, including hundreds of foreign athletes in April for the first Pyongyang International Marathon in six years.

China has historically been the biggest diplomatic, economic and political backer of North Korea, which remains under crippling international sanctions.

Travel agency Young Pioneer Tours (YPT) said on Saturday it would take a group of foreign tourists on a trip to the authoritarian state from October 24 to November 1.

However, the tour would not be open to journalists, travel content creators or influencers, the company said on its website.

YPT co-founder Rowan Beard told AFP the curbs on creators were "a specific request from the North Korean side".

"We anticipate that once the country officially reopens, there may be stricter scrutiny or limitations on influencers and YouTubers joining tours," Beard said.

The company had "no visibility" on when Pyongyang would restart official media delegations, he said.

Several online influencers have shared slickly produced videos from inside North Korea in recent months.

Chad O'Carroll, founder of specialist website NK News, said many influencers tend to have larger audiences than professional journalists, but "they are normally working without editors and tend to gain extra views through sensationalist-style content".

"North Korean authorities likely see few benefits and major risks with allowing social media influencers to visit the country, given what we saw earlier this year," O'Carroll told AFP.

"The result is a community of potential visitors who, in DPRK authorities' minds, are not likely to produce content that is favorable to state interests," he said, using North Korea's official name.

Lavish gifts

The YPT tour, priced at 3,995 euros ($4,704), will depart from the Chinese capital Beijing and take in the Pyongyang Autumn International Trade Fair, North Korea's biggest international business exhibition.

Participants will have a "unique chance" to stroll through more than 450 trade booths exhibiting machinery, information technology, energy, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods and household items.

YPT also said the Pyongyang Chamber of Commerce would "hold a VIP presentation for us for an in-depth overview and insights into the (North Korean) economy".

The itinerary also includes major sights in Pyongyang as well as the first Western visit in more than five years to Mount Myohyang, which boasts a museum of lavish gifts presented to former North Korean leaders.

Chinese people used to make up the bulk of foreign tourists and business visitors to the isolated nuclear nation before it sealed its borders during the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, numbers have not rebounded despite Pyongyang's post-pandemic reopening, a trend that some analysts have attributed to Beijing's anger at North Korea's explicit support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.