Türkiye reinforces investment focus at major gathering in Istanbul

Turkish authorities have underscored a commitment to attracting global investment at a major gathering held in Istanbul on Saturday, chaired by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and attended by other top government officials.

The Investment Advisory Committee (YDK) meeting convened at the Presidential Dolmabahçe office in Istanbul, bringing together ministers, public and private sector leaders and 33 international investors from 11 countries, representing a combined portfolio value of $15 trillion.

Following the closed-door meeting, a shared communique said that foreign direct investment (FDI) “has been one of the most important drivers of the country’s economic transformation.”

“Türkiye, which attracted only $15 billion in direct investment in the 30 years between 1973 and 2002, has succeeded in attracting a total of $282 billion in investment since 2003, as of July 2025,” the statement read.

Moreover, the statement highlighted that FDI volume stood at $11.3 billion in 2024 and reached a recent high of $13.8 billion, in annualized terms, as of July 2025. It also pointed out that, when examined, it reveals that more value-added investments are being directed toward the country.

It also suggested that “the share of export-focused, climate-friendly investments that elevate Türkiye to higher positions in global value chains and provide skilled employment, is increasing.”

“To further strengthen this momentum, the reform agenda aimed at expanding existing investments and attracting new ones is being pursued with determination,” it added.

At the same time, the declaration highlighted YDK’s role in promoting the investment environment, describing it as a “distinguished platform” that unites the global business community and the country’s highest-level policymakers.

“The YDK meetings, which have made significant contributions so far to the exceptional process carried out with the private sector within the scope of the Coordination Council for the Improvement of Investment Environment (YOIKK) activities, take place in a productive atmosphere where investors share their new investment plans in our country with high-level policymakers.”

This year, the gathering was held in two separate sessions on the themes of global supply chains and digital investments.

Enhancing competitiveness, policies

Several topics that will enhance Türkiye’s competitiveness and ensure sustainable growth were discussed, including enhancing its green energy capacity, strengthening its logistics infrastructure, promoting artificial intelligence technologies, developing its digital infrastructure, stabilizing its supply chain, and bolstering human capacity in the twin transformation area.

All these suggestions and assessments are expected to make significant contributions to both the YOIKK Action Plan and other policy documents and action plans, according to the statement.

The statement also emphasized Türkiye’s aim “to achieve a technology-intensive, high-value-added production infrastructure that ranks higher in global value chains.”

“To this end, we will closely monitor transformations in the global economy and pursue policies that will enable our country to capture a larger share of the global trade and investment pie.”

On the sidelines of this year’s Investment Advisory Committee meeting, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Presidential Investment and Finance Office and the travel and transportation technologies company Amadeus related to developing the travel and tourism sector in Türkiye.

“This strategic collaboration, which aims to strengthen Türkiye’s travel and tourism ecosystem through digital technologies and tourism, will significantly contribute to our country’s technology exports and talented human resources,” the communique noted.

It also said a similar meeting is planned for 2026.

Trade Minister Ömer Bolat, commenting on the meeting, pledged “to continue to fulfill our responsibilities in our country’s journey to growth and prosperity.”

“With our relevant ministers, we evaluated our country’s business and investment environment, our government’s economic policies, its growing influence on the global trade scene and the strong steps we have taken in innovative areas,” he stated on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

He emphasized that Türkiye, with its strategic location, strong industrial infrastructure, dynamic economy, skilled workforce and production capacity, is at the center of stability, confidence and opportunity for investors.

“Having increased its exports of goods and services to $379 billion in 2024, our country has already achieved the $390 billion target set by our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for 2025 and is preparing to finish the year even higher than this target,” he furthered.

“With a GDP of $1.474 trillion, a narrowing current account deficit, and a stable growth performance, Türkiye is now a leading and reliable economic actor in its region,” he added.

The minister also noted that Türkiye has strengthened its position in the global arena by ranking 12th in the automotive sector, seventh in textiles and apparel, second in contracting projects, 10th in trade fairs and logistics, and among the top four countries in tourism.

“Under the leadership of our president, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Türkiye is taking firm steps toward becoming the production and investment hub not only for today but also for the future, with an approach guided by R&D-intensive, high value-added, and technology-focused production,” said Bolat.

“As the Trade Ministry, we will resolutely pursue our production- and export-focused development vision, which inspires confidence in our domestic and foreign investors, and we will continue to fulfill our responsibilities in our country’s journey of growth, employment, and prosperity, God willing.”