MUST-READS

• Turkey’s finance, banking chiefs to visit Saudi Arabia in search of foreign funds

  The visit comes as the country’s new economy management is scrambling to attract foreign funds in a bid to ease the country’s foreign currency crunch and raise the central bank’s depleted reserves.

• Erdogan links Sweden’s NATO membership to Turkey’s EU accession

  Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in an unexpected move, said on Monday the European Union should open the way for Ankara's accession to the bloc before Turkey's parliament approves Sweden's bid to join the NATO military alliance. Turkey's bid to join the EU has been frozen for years after membership talks were launched in 2005 under Erdogan's first term as prime minister. The ties between Ankara and members of the bloc soured several years ago, especially after a 2016 failed coup attempt in Turkey, but have since improved. The bloc depends on the help of NATO ally Ankara, particularly on migration.

• Turkey expects $10 billion in Gulf investments after upcoming Erdogan visit, sources say

  Turkey expects Gulf countries to make direct investments of about $10 billion initially in domestic assets as part of President Tayyip Erdogan's trip to the region in two weeks, according to two senior Turkish officials. Erdogan is scheduled to visit leaders in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on July 17-19, in part to drum up foreign funding that would boost Turkey's strained economy after his re-election in May. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the talks are private and deals are not yet finalised, said overall investments of up to $30 billion are expected over a longer period in Turkey's energy, infrastructure and defence sectors.

• Top officials from Turkey and Sweden in fresh attempt to overcome NATO membership concerns

  Senior officials from Sweden and Turkey arrived at NATO headquarters Thursday to examine Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s objections to the Nordic country joining the military alliance and to see what more, if anything, could be done to break the deadlock. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is leading the talks, which will involve the countries’ foreign ministers, intelligence chiefs and national security advisers. Top officials from Finland, which joined NATO in April after addressing Turkey’s concerns, planned to take part.

• Saudi Arabia welcomes restoration of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Egypt

  Saudi Arabia on Tuesday welcomed the restoration of diplomatic ties between Egypt and Turkey signaling a normalization of relations between both countries after a decade of tension. Egypt and Turkey had announced on Tuesday that they have appointed ambassadors to each other’s capitals for the first time in a decade to restore normal diplomatic relations.

• Turkey’s Spymaster-Turned-Foreign Minister Could Reshape Iraq Policy

  While Turkey’s new foreign minister may reshape its Iraq policy, Ankara will likely prioritize economic relations above all else.

• Special Report: US, Swedish prosecutors study graft complaint naming son of Turkey’s Erdogan

  Anti-corruption authorities in the United States and Sweden are reviewing a complaint alleging that the Swedish affiliate of a U.S. company pledged to pay tens of millions of dollars in kickbacks if a son of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan helped it secure a dominant market position in the country. The proposed plan was detailed in communications and business documents seen by Reuters, as well as by a person familiar with the matter. Reuters is reporting this plan and the resulting preliminary probes for the first time.

• Turkey’s central bank hikes interest rate to 15% in dramatic U-turn to fight inflation

  Turkey’s central bank jacked up the country’s key interest rate Thursday, almost doubling it from 8.5% to 15% as the new economic administration of recently re-elected President Recep Tayyip Erdogan embarked on a dramatic monetary policy U-turn. The bank said that there will be further gradual monetary tightening until the inflation picture in the country improves.

• Turkey Erdogan Government Raises Minimum Wage by 34% in Second Hike in a Year

  Turkey raised its minimum wage for a second time this year, potentially adding to inflationary pressures making the job of the country’s new economic team harder. The monthly net minimum wage will rise by 34% to 11,402 liras ($483), Labor Minister Vedat Isikhan said in televised comments. That’s an increase of 107% from the end of last year.

• Commentary: Gulf support for Turkey’s Erdogan is about more than economics

  At a time when the UAE and Saudi Arabia adopt positions at odds with the policies of the United States, the region’s security guarantor, they may see Mr. Erdogan as an increasingly important partner irrespective of whether the Gulf states’ moves constitute a genuine policy shift or merely a pressure tactic to persuade the US to be more attentive to their concerns.

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