site.btaTurkiye in 2024 - Strategic Regional Player in View of Complicated Domestic Economic Situation

Dynamic, but much calmer compared to last year - this is how 2024 can be summarized for Turkiye. Against the backdrop of numerous crises in the region, the country has once again proved that it remains a key strategic player.

Undoubtedly, the end of the year brought a "long-awaited" resolution for the Turkish authorities regarding the crisis in Syria, even as many analysts talked about Turkiye being the biggest winner from the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. For years, the Turkish authorities openly supported the Syrian opposition. With the fall of Assad, thousands of Syrian refugees have begun to return to their homeland, which is good news for many ordinary Turkish citizens. Within days of the change in Syria, a Turkish delegation including the head of Turkiye's National Intelligence Service (MIT), Ibrahim Kalin, arrived in Damascus for a visit, and on Sunday (22 December), Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met in the Syrian capital with Syria's de facto new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. Meanwhile, it has become clear that Turkish businesses are very interested in developing various activities in Syria, from construction to opening textile factories.

Turkiye has continued this year to play a mediating role in conflict resolution efforts between a number of countries. A very large success was achieved in the negotiations between Somalia and Ethiopia, after which the Turkish authorities announced that they would also mediate in the attempt to resolve the conflict between Sudan and the United Arab Emirates.

In the past year there has been no major breakthrough in relations between Turkiye and the EU, and the European Parliament's rapporteur on Turkiye, Nacho Sanchez Amor, who visited Ankara in December, strongly criticised the country in terms of respect for human rights. In his words, there are "no shortcuts" in the EU accession process.

A slightly softer approach was demonstrated towards Ankara by European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen, who arrived in the Turkish capital a few days after Nacho Sanchez Amor. The EC President said that relations between Turkiye and the EU were "as rich as they are complex", but added that "relations are moving forward".

Meanwhile, it emerged earlier this year that Turkiye had applied to join the BRICS group of emerging economies. The country has continued with its alternative preferences, with Turkiye announcing over the summer that it wanted to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). The deepening of contacts within the Organisation of Turkic States (there was even agreement on the proposal to adopt a common Turkic alphabet consisting of 34 letters) and the D-8 (Islamic Eight) are also a fact.

In 2024 Turkiye has continued its unconditional support for the Palestinians, and in August, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Ankara for a visit. In a speech to the Turkish parliament, the 88-year-old leader thanked the Turkish people for their solidarity with the Palestinians in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Large-scale demonstrations in support of the Palestinians were organised across the country, with participants raising slogans such as "We are all Palestinians", "Freedom for Palestine" and "Patience, Faith, Jihad". Turkiye has also applied to the UN International Court of Justice to join the trial brought against Israel by South Africa.

Among the most interesting events with a finish unexpected by most analysts this year were the local elections on 31 March, which were won nationally for the first time in many years by the main opposition People's Republican Party (CHP). The victory of the Kemalist formation was described as a "turning point" for Turkiye. The CHP won in particular in the country's five largest cities - Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, Antalya.

Among the main reasons for the loss of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was not so much the so-called Islamist inclination of the formation, but the difficult economic situation in the country, including high inflation, because of which people lost a huge part of their savings. This was the first time Erdogan's AKP trailed behind in an election in more than two decades of his rule.

In 2024, terrorism remained among the main threats to the country. In October, a bloody terrorist attack was carried out against the State-owned Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) company in Ankara. Five people were killed and 22 injured in the attack against the 'heart of Turkiye's defence industry'. Turkish authorities announced that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was behind the attack. Following the attack, Turkiye stepped up military operations against PKK targets in Iraq and Syria.

At the same time, a number of plans were implemented throughout the year under the Century of Turkiye programme. Among the important missions carried out for the country was the launch of the first Turkish astronaut, Alper Gezeravci (with the AX-3 (Axion Mission 3) crew from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA). The exciting event from January was followed by a huge number of Turkish citizens. Planetariums were set up in the capital Ankara and in Istanbul, where spectators were able to watch the launch from specially installed screens.

Throughout the year, the authorities continued to make great efforts to rebuild the areas affected by the devastating earthquakes of February 6, 2023, which killed over 53,000 people and left huge numbers homeless. New housing is constantly being built and handed over to those affected by the 'disaster of the century' in the south-east of the country. However, despite the continued efforts of the authorities, hundreds of thousands continue to live in containers and tents and people's lives remain extremely complicated.

Against the backdrop of the crises in the region, as well as the painful problem of terrorism, the biggest concern for Turkish citizens remains the economic situation in the country. The data of public opinion polls conducted by the Ipsos polling agency in mid-2023 and a year later are similar - over 80% of Turkish citizens surveyed are of the opinion that the situation related to the economy and inflation remains their biggest concern.

Despite the authorities' efforts to fight inflation, the economic situation in the country remains extremely complex.