The year 2005 was a milestone in Turkey’s history. Its lengthy and ambitious programmes began to bear fruit and while its macroeconomic outlook has been recovering, the start of accession talks with the EU provided new impetus for a brighter future.

Together with an economy that is flourishing (after the deepest crisis in the country’s history since the Second World War), Turkey became the year’s favourite tourist destination and also emerged as a popular destination in southern Europe for international retirement migration.

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Changing perceptions

The repercussions of accession, which favours Turkey’s deeper integration with the global flow of people, capital and era-defining ideas, are having an effect not only the daily lives of Turkey’s citizens, but also the perceptions of the international investor community. For the first time, Turkey ranked among the 25 most attractive markets in AT Kearney’s FDI Confidence Index, at 13th place.

These changes have not been limited to ‘cool’ Istanbul (cited as Europe’s hippest city by Newsweek magazine last August) where one can experience the ambiance of a first-class metropolis – from a high-brow Picasso exhibition to the high life, partying along the shores of the legendary Bosphorus.

All around Anatolia and Thrace, many cities are enjoying their share of this economic, social and cultural boom. Some places that hitherto have been undergoing a quiet restructuring in line with current requirements have found their voice through a variety of initiatives. From Afyon’s international jazz festival in central Anatolia to international film festivals in Kars – setting of the famous novel Snow – Turkish cities have taken further steps towards integration with the shrinking world, blurring territorial boundaries.

While the government works on reforms to increase the efficiency of Turkey’s previously highly centralised administrative structure and tackle the ongoing regional disparities, at a local level new linkages are being established and new ways are being developed to express the potential of the regions’ cities, in order to exploit the opportunities created by Turkey’s new profile in the international arena.

In the following pages you will read about four such Turkish cities:

  • Kocaeli – the developed industrial centre of the country, located on the fringes of Istanbul, with living standards that are equivalent to those of Europe.

 

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  • Manisa – the city striving to transform its state-of-the-art industrial structure to accommodate more promising high tech investment.

 

  • Konya – making best use of its traditional hard-working culture and commercial legacy to compete in the global economy.

 

  • Adana – the historical commercial centre of not only southern Turkey, but also the Middle East and north Africa.

While the country continues its journey towards fulfilling its potential, we believe these four will provide a pioneering example for the other Turkish cities that the international business world will hear more about in the near future.

 

 

CONTACT

Undersecretariat of Treasury

General Directorate for Foreign Investment

Hazine Mustesarligi

Inonu Bulvari No.36

06510 Emek/Ankara

Turkey

Tel: (+90) 312 212 58 75

(+90) 312 212 87 46

Fax: (+90) 312 212 89 16

Web: http://www. investinturkey.gov.tr

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