Turkey as a Regional Economic Actor: Successes and Weaknesses

Favorable economic prospects encouraged Turkey to strengthen its presence in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. By leveraging both its geographical proximity and a series of bilateral agreements on free movement of people and goods, Turkey was significantly increasing its exports to the region, which then accounted for more than a quarter of its total exports. This was supporting rapid economic recovery and the growing assertiveness of Turkish foreign policy in the region. Sustainability of economic growth in the medium- to long-term required structural reforms to improve productivity and enhance competitiveness. However, reforms had a significant political cost, and were slowed down by the upcoming elections. If the government did not take advantage of the current favorable conditions to achieve these reforms, Turkish economy prospects would be damaged. This would also weaken the economic foundations of current Turkish foreign policy in the MENA region.