Yup, Turkey. Hosting the G-20. In just a few days. Interesting & portentous location. Putin, Obama and Canada's own Justin Trudeau are all expected to attend.I notice this meeting is not getting much press. Odd? No alt media finds this news worthy considering the present day circumstances ISIS/L, PKK, the Syrian situation? I would expect to be hearing and reading about security concerns, endlessly in the main stream media. But that's not the case. If something goes wrong, it will be very bad for Turkey and the newly elected government. Which makes the meeting at this locale & time feel a bit ominous- Could just be me? Lots' of pressure on Turkey to 'reform'
Turkey will host the leaders of the world's 20 biggest economies (G-20) in Antalya between Nov. 15 and 16 and is expected to introduce the progress it made in its earlier announced top three priorities -- namely, inclusiveness, implementation and investment -- to visiting delegates. These priorities could hardly be implemented without reforms in the business environment as well as in the judiciary, market observers note. The G-20 summit will be the first global stage on which Turkey's new government will be introduced. Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek told the media last week that this gives Turkey a window of opportunity to push ahead with reforms. But it will depend on the shape of the new Cabinet, Şimşek added. Underlying Şimşek's statement is a brewing battle within the AK Party to choose whether the new economy management team will stick with a new economic model focused solely on growth or push for structural reforms in the first place. Şimşek and Central Bank Governor Erdem Başçı are both on the reformists' side, vying for steps to reassure investors.
Turkey needs a new economic story
“Global markets will be more interested in what the AK Party's economic model will be than who runs it. … At the end of the day, the ball is in their [the government's] court and investors want to see if they will take the reasonable path,” former central banker and columnist Uğur Gürses told Today's Zaman.
According to Gürses, Turkey needs to first reform its judiciary, which is criticized for bowing to political pressure, thus producing a botched legal pretext to clamp down on government critics. As part of this crackdown, the police raided companies owned by government critics, the assets of businesspeople were confiscated and media outlets were silenced while the government intensified tax inspections and levied heavy fines on many other firms.
A commitment to stick with financial and non-financial reforms has helped Turkey mitigate the side effects of the 2008 global financial crisis, Gürses recalled. He added that the country needs a new story to tell foreign investors. Many of its emerging peers are struggling to do so at a time of hardship in attracting hot money due to the US Federal Reserve (Fed) tapering its stimulus and problems in such large exports markets as the EU.
The Nov. 1 election returned the country to single-party rule, but it is too early to comment whether the new economic team will steer Turkey towards an open market, economist Yaşar Erdinç says. According to Erdinç, the AK Party has no more excuses and must address key structural economic problems, otherwise it will be responsible if reform pledges fail at the end of the day.
The next few weeks and months are critical in terms of Turkey finding a new path. One of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's close aides recently told a pro-Erdoğan daily that financial institutions would finally be freed of the "tutelage of foreign investors” after the Nov. 1 election. Many Turkey analysts find such rhetoric highly dangerous.Economist İbrahim Öztürk told Today's Zaman that the more Turkey stays integrated in global markets, the easier it will be to carry out reforms. “The Turkish economic system will have serious problems if the new government chooses to withdraw the country into itself and unnerve foreign investors,” Öztürk said.
Doncha just hate when bankers and big business dictate to a government? I do.Turkey detains 46 ISIL suspects before G-20 summit
Turkey is imposing tight security ahead of the Nov. 15-16 summit. It will be held in a beach resort away from the centre of Antalya city, with some 11,000 police officers on duty to assure security.