Albania applied for EU membership more than 15 years ago, and although there is no set date for accession, AB’'s latest progress report shows that the Balkan country is well on its way to developing a functioning market economy that can withstand market forces and the competitive pressures of being in the bloc.
Candidate countries must meet various economic criteria in order to be accepted. This includes demonstrating macroeconomic stability, high-quality economic management, an appropriate labor market and adequate infrastructure.
Albania's economy experienced a strong recovery in ’ in 2021, and this recovery continued in ’ in 2022. This happened despite the massive earthquake in 2019’, the Covid-19 pandemic and the triple shock caused by the war in Ukraine’.
EuropeAs in other parts of ’, inflation in Albania’ has fallen recently, but remains high due to tight labor markets. However, real GDP growth is projected to be 3.3 percent for this year. What is the driving force behind Albania's economy?
Euronews Correspondent Paul Hackett and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.
A construction explosion
Brussels to help pave the way for Western Balkan countries to join the bloc, Stabilization and unification process. This sets out political and economic goals for the region.
The lack of rapprochement between countries in the Western Balkan region and the rest of the European Union remains a major problem in allowing these countries to join the EU. This currently equates to about 35 percent of AB’'s average levels.
Economic convergence is sometimes defined as the conditions that enable ‘, or a country with a slower level of development and economic growth, to capture ’, a country richer than ‘.
In the case of Albania, the country is investing heavily in the construction and tourism sectors to boost economic growth.
The country's railway network is being completely overhauled with the help of AB’'s Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) for the Western Balkans.
In addition to innovating the railway network, train stations and signaling system, EIP is also used to develop renewable energy projects such as solar photovoltaic power plants, as well as digital infrastructure.
Euronews Correspondent Paul Hackett and Bashkim Kasoruhu, head of the Albanian Railways Project Implementation Unit.
Albanian Railways Project Implementation Unit head Bashkim Kasoruhu euronews’e said that railway projects will have a major economic, social and environmental impact and significantly improve transport links within Albania, the wider Balkan region and Europe.
“Connection is the most important aspect. You can imagine the impact of connecting these largest ports. The port [Durres], [Tiran] airport and Tirana city center, where the public transport terminal is located, will gather all the infrastructure in one center, ” said.
AlbaniaThe new railway connection between Durres and Tirana, the two largest cities in ’, will cut the 40-minute road trip in half and reduce it to about 20 minutes when completed. In addition to the EU investment grant, the project is also financed by a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
A tourism success story
Albania’'s coastline stretches 450 kilometers along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas. Tourists are interested in the country's Mediterranean climate, reasonable prices and natural beauty areas.
Located between Montenegro in the north and Greece in the south, this region is connected to the ports of Bari and Brindisi in ’, Italy, with relatively short ferry routes. Given these geographical factors, it may come as no surprise that Albania’ is quickly becoming Europe’'s hottest tourist destination.
Albania welcomed a record 8.3 million tourists between January and September last year; This figure is 0.8 million more than the 7.5 million tourists it received in 2022’. This upward trend is expected to continue.
Euronews also met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. Click on the video in the media player above to watch the entire interview.
Real EconomyIn this part of ’, we focus on AB’'s macro-financial assistance; This is emergency financial assistance to neighbouring countries to help stabilise their economies in times of crisis.
In the last 30 years, 77 MFA operations worth 16 billion euros have been carried out, providing assistance to 27 countries. The last example was this: Ukraine’ya 1.2 billion euros providedWe stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
Macro-financial assistance (MFA)It often comes in the form of loans with extremely favorable terms and low interest rates. To receive the money, countries must enroll in a funding programme with the IMF, meet conditions for respect for human rights and anti-corruption, and implement democratic, economic and governance reforms.
The broader goal is to help ensure stability and prosperity beyond the EU.
the North Macedonia
EU candidate North Macedonia received 160m euros from MFA’ to help stabilize the country's economy after the shock caused by Covid-19’.
The unpaid leave of a large number of workers created a kind of scissor effect: On the one hand, financial income slowed down, while on the other hand, it led to a sharp increase in public spending.
In addition, foreign direct investment dried up and the country's trade balance deteriorated.
North Macedonia received an emergency loan of 160m euros from AB’.
Impact on young people
The youth unemployment rate in ’ has been falling steadily since 2005’, but has increased in 2020’.
Marija Sepetovska, 23, found a job thanks to AB’'s Youth Guarantee, has been put into practice by the country's job seekers agency.
“Of course, starting your career during the pandemic was a stressful time, especially for young people. Especially when I see that there are many programs that support our country, I actually have more confidence in myself.”
Marija admits that some of her friends aren't so lucky.
“It was very easy for me, but unfortunately for many other Macedonian youth, this is not the case. Some people have a hard time finding the big opportunity. So this place is still not the best, adds ”.
Marija got a job thanks to the EU Youth Guarantee, which the North Macedonia agency has put in place for job seekers.
The first tranche of macro-financial aid was sent as emergency aid. For the second payment, North Macedonia’ had to meet a number of requirements. This included the creation of a youth unemployment unit.
Explaining what the unit does, unit head Goran Petkovski told Real Economy’: They are primarily involved in the development of active labour market measures under the operational plan and how we can better target young people with these active market measures we have. They are also responsible for coordinating the work of youth counselors within the local employment office and, of course, monitoring and reporting on the Youth Guarantee.”
The 160m-euro emergency loan has helped ’ through a difficult economic period, but Shenaj Hadzimustafa, an Associate Professor in the Department of Business and Economics at the University of South East Europe, believes these benefits will last for a long time in the future.
During the “O period, money was needed to meet some budget needs and the need for balance of payments. But on the other hand, the reforms will be permanent and have a positive impact on the country. Therefore, I think that these reforms should have an impact not only in the short term but also in the medium and long term.”
The stability of the region concerns us…
Now in its fourth decade, the EU has recently provided 1.2 billion euros in macro-financial assistance to support the Ukrainian ’. Paolo Gentiloni, AB’'s chief economic officer, said: The real economySuch support is very important.
“We are interested in the stability of the region. Stability in migration. Stability for peace, etc. And finally, we have great interest as trading partners of these countries because the European Union’ne member countries are the main trading partner of all these countries in general.” said.
Real Economy meets with North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski
Naomi Lloyd of Real Economy’ spoke with the country's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovačevski to learn more about how AB’'s macro-financial assistance is helping North Macedonia’.
Naomi Lloyd, euronews:
How much has “AB’'s Macro-financial assistance made a difference to the country?”
Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovačevski:
“AB’'s macro-financial assistance has helped a lot to sustain the reforms we have initiated, not only in terms of financial aid, but also in the area of public finance management and other areas. But it also gave other international and financial institutions and donors with whom we cooperate a clear signal that we have a stable economic policy in times of crisis.”
Naomi Lloyd, euronews:
“How difficult were these reforms to implement?”
Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovačevski:
“Transparency InternationalThe fight against crime and corruption has come to fruition as we have improved our position in ’'s reports. We have entered a country with democratic conditions. Because in the past, there were deficiencies in democratic procedures in the country. We are very, very happy about this. - ”
Naomi Lloyd, euronews:
How do you ensure that “Reforms don't end here, but are fully implemented going forward?”
Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovačevski:
“We have regular coordination with the European Union and European Commission institutions, so we have regular reporting. We have also worked hard on the implementation of internal mechanisms in the country and in public institutions to ensure these reforms are carried out.”
Naomi Lloyd, euronews:
“Now North Macedonia is a candidate to join AB’. The next step is accession negotiations. How hopeful are you that this will all start soon?”
Dimitar Kovačevski. Prime Minister of North Macedonia:
“ North Macedonia’ has a clear strategic goal of becoming a full member of Euro-Atlantic troops. Last year we celebrated the 30 ’th anniversary of our independence, and this was accompanied by the fact that we are the 30’th member of NATO’. It's already the 17th year of ’ and we still can't start negotiations. Unfortunately, there was another challenge imposed by the old one last year. The Bulgarian government.We have already opened a new dialogue with the two new governments and held a meeting with the Bulgarian Prime Minister in Skopje ’ to restore trust and confidence.
This week, Real Economy visited Spain’, the first country to receive billions of dollars from AB’'s pandemic recovery fund.
We talk to Nadia Calviño, Spain's Minister of Economy and Digitalization, and meet with students at Tenerife’, where rescue funds are spent on vocational training.
The foundations of the European ’ recovery are being laid
Europe’'s response to the pandemic crisis (at current prices) was a historic stimulus plan worth €806.9 billion.
At the heart of this is the €723.8 billion Improvement and Resilience Facility, which aims to help EU countries get back on their feet by investing, creating jobs and building a green and digital future (at current prices).
Spain will receive 69.5 billion Euro’ of this money; This is the largest public investment plan in the country's recent history. So far, it has received €9 billion in emergency pre-financing and received its first installment, €10 billion in ’ in December 2021.
Adrián is taking a professional course in image and sound.
You can get a lot of theory in college, but you can get very little practice.
Canaries like Tenerife’de Adrián learn professional skills to help them find work.
Adrián, “You can get a lot of theory in the university, but very little practice. The good thing about vocational training is that you have the option to do an internship, ” explains.
“If they like the way you work and need people, they'll take you. How do I see my future after this training? Well, I hope I start working on something about that. I would like to work in different countries of the world. The U.S., Germany, the U.K., everywhere, but I work in different places, ” adds.
Although training centres such as Adrián’'s already exist, partly thanks to the European Social Fund, the Recovery Fund’'s €2 billion will be allocated to the creation of 135,000 new vocational training centres in ’, Spain.
Jorge Rivero Antuña, director of the CIFP César Manrique vocational school, says the money is already being used to teach technology and business.
“We receive funding from the European ’, known as the European Social Fund. This includes teachers' salaries and training courses for the unemployed and workers. %Covers 80’ini. Regarding the resilience mechanism, we have already received the necessary money for technology lessons, entrepreneurship, etc. We hope that we will continue to receive funds throughout 2022 and 2023.”
Like many southern European member states, Spain is facing systemic unemployment, especially among young people. Matching student skills with what employers really want is seen as one of the main ways to combat unemployment.
Guillaume Desjardins
Euronews
Carlos says his firm is struggling to find the right candidates with the right skills.
Rise of technology
Tourism remains the main driver of economic activity in Tenerife’, but the archipelago's rapidly growing technology sector also provides business opportunities.
Carlos Rodríguez is the founder of Omnia Infosys’in, a company that helps SMEs and public institutions in the Canary Islands’ in their digital transformation needs. Despite high regional and national rates of youth unemployment, Carlos says the firm is struggling to find the right candidates.
“Currently, people in both the Canary Islands of ’nda and the rest of Spain’ do not have the right education to meet what we need. We don't have all the skills we need, but people don't have them, ” explains.
Despite this difficulty, Carlos concludes optimistically: “This sector will grow a lot. There will be a lot of demand. We need more and more people with different skills because the demand has been incredible since COVID-19’. Growth has tripled or quadrupled in the last two years. And that growth will continue to grow. In fact, there are millions of job openings in this sector in Europe’.
Nadia Calviño, Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister of Economy and Digitalization:
Transforming the Spanish economy
To receive its first payment of €10 billion, Spain had to implement dozens of structural reforms, including measures aimed at improving the vocational education ecosystem and reducing gender pay inequality in the workplace.
Other EU member states are also currently encouraging reforms to get their share of the bailout funds.
Real Economy, SpainTo learn more about ’'s national recovery plan and how it plans to use recovery funds to transform the country's economy, spoke with the country's Vice-President of Government and Minister of Economy and Digitalization, Nadia Calviño.
SpainThe present of ’ and the future of Spain’ are very important for future generations.
According to Euronews:“Spain’ya will be given almost 70 billion euros. What will this mean for Spain and the Spanish economy?”
Nadia Calviño, Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister of Economy and Digitalization:
“This is the present of ’ in Spain and SpainIt is very important for the future of ’ and for future generations. Our recovery plan focuses on four axes: green, digital, social and regional cohesion and gender equality that drive all our programs. Digital will represent about 30 percent of the total investment.’
According to Euronews:These funds come with a number of structural reforms. How hard was it to meet all these conditions?
Nadia Calvino:“The process was cumbersome and very busy. We were a little bit like guinea pigs, starting the process. Together with the Commission, we are learning how to implement this unprecedented recovery plan.
As for the reforms, we accelerated them throughout 2021, now the main challenge is to complete what is waiting in parliament and maintain the flow of funds that began last year.”
Spain is a big country, a complicated country.
According to Euronews:“Are you sure you have the administrative capacity to do this?”
Nadia Calvino:“This is a very, very important challenge for every administration. Spain is a great country; It's a complicated country. We have a multi-level management. For this reason, we have created a management structure and strengthened the mechanisms we have.
In the coming weeks, we will launch some of the most important strategic plans, such as leading the transition to electric and connected vehicles.
According to Euronews:“How much difference do you think vocational education projects will make in terms of unemployment?”
Nadia Calvino:“Vocational education is one of the keys to unlocking a better functioning labor market in the future. Our unemployment rate has fallen to 13.3%’e, which provides us with a good foundation along with structural reforms, particularly labour market reform, and, at the same time, with a crucial investment effort towards education, vocational training and lifelong learning, Spain, which could allow ’ to finally overcome some of the imbalances that have driven growth and prosperity for decades.
Kazakhstan, as the country attracting the most foreign investment in Central Asia, aims to receive 150 billion dollars more direct foreign investment by 2029.
Kazakhstan, which holds the position of the largest economy in Central Asia and will celebrate the 33rd anniversary of its independence this year, maintains its charm for foreign investors.
According to data from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Kazakhstan has managed to rank among the 35 most competitive countries in the world.
The Kazakh government, which aims to attract $150 billion more direct foreign investment by 2029, is creating a positive investment climate with steps to reduce bureaucratic inconveniences for foreign companies, introduce tax exemption, avoid fiscal controls and protect their legal rights.
In this context, the decree signed by the President of Kazakhstan Kasım Cömert Tokayev ⁇ in May 2024 on the valuable privatization of the economy is also noteworthy.
Tokayev was elected 36th President of the Board of Foreign Investors, which he chaired on 31 October. At the meeting, we will continue the systematic steps aimed at improving the working conditions of investors in our country.
In Kazakhstan, which is the 9th largest country in the world in terms of surface area and has a wealth of ⁇ critical raw material ⁇ reserves other than oil and natural gas, the government gives priority especially to foreign companies that will invest in the geology department.
It is currently stated that approximately 1.6 million square kilometers of land in the country are open to the acquisition of underground usage rights for geological exploration purposes.
Although it is desired to develop non-raw parts in the country, oil still plays a major role in Kazakhstan's economy.
In the country, where oil production has increased three times since its independence, especially Western companies have heavy investments in the region.
It is aimed to increase oil production to 100 million tons per year in the future.
At the same time, with more than 200 million hectares of agricultural land, the country promises great opportunities to foreign investors in this area.
In the future, more than 100 projects worth 5 billion dollars in the country's agriculture department are planned to be implemented with the participation of foreign investors.
In addition, the transportation and transportation department in Kazakhstan also offers great opportunities for foreign investors. The government especially cares about the projects for the infrastructure and logistics development of the Trans-Caspian Inter-Country Corridor with the passage of the Caspian Sea.
Every year, the capital city of Kazakhstan, Astana ⁇ , organizes the Global Investment Round Table (KGIR) activity, where the investment potential of the country is introduced.
In the activity, which was attended by many foreign investors as well as experts, hundreds of foreign investors came together this year. Speaking at the opening of the event, Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Oljas Bektenov said that 14 special economic zones are currently operating in the country.
Bektenov reported that in these ⁇ special economic zones ⁇ tax and customs privileges were provided for foreign investors, the procedure for employing foreign personnel was facilitated, and administrative inconveniences in front of the business world were reduced.
Hacı Bayram Veli University Faculty Member Assoc. Dr. Esma Özdaşlı told AA reporter that economic stability and state-provided incentives are among the most valuable elements in foreign investors' preference for Kazakhstan.
Stating that 18 of the 34 critical raw materials described as critical by the European Union are located on the territory of Kazakhstan, Özdaşlı said that Kazakhstan is currently aiming to attract foreign investment to non-oil areas.
Özdaşlı noted that Kazakhstan is very valuable in terms of global supply chain with its geographical prestige, and the arrival of 23 billion dollars of foreign investment in 2023 indicates the confidence of foreign investors in this country.
Stating that Turkish companies operate in different parts of Kazakhstan, Özdaşlı said:
Especially in recent years, with the increasing power of Turkey in the national defense industry, much agreement has been made between Turkey and Kazakhstan in terms of the production of military works and the development of military technology. The Turkish defense industry has valuable enterprises in Kazakhstan. At this meeting, we listened to the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan and other high-level officials. We have seen that Kazakhstan ⁇ is waiting for foreign investors, especially when it comes to Turkey ⁇ more incentives are provided to Turkish investors with the closeness brought by that brotherhood. ⁇
According to a new report from BestBrokers ⁇ , Denmark is the most affordable country to buy a house in Europe according to the average income.
According to the findings of BestBrokers ⁇ , the IMF, real estate price expert Numbeo and TradingEconomics ⁇ in data, the average price of a 100-square-meter property corresponds to a net salary of 114 in Denmark ⁇ , ranking the Northern country as the most affordable country to buy a house in Europe ⁇ . .
Meanwhile, Denmark became the most expensive country in the EU in 2023 ⁇ (prices for goods and services according to Eurostat ⁇ %It was over 43) and the annual average earnings was the seventh highest in Europe.
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In the report, ⁇ As prices and incomes differ significantly from one country to another, the BestBrokers team decided to examine the real estate market based on how many months of salary is required to buy a house in various European countries. ⁇
The affordable price ranking is based on data that examines ⁇ real ⁇ mortgage interest rates, which are housing loan interest rates adjusted for housing prices, average net monthly income, inflation and inflation across 62 countries in the world.
Where in Europe does it take the longest to save money to buy a house?
According to this report, Ireland and Sweden are the second and third most affordable countries in Europe, capable of buying a 100-square-meter house with a net salary of 123 and 129, respectively. That's about a 10-year annual salary.
But there's one small problem, and that's that the census is purely theoretical. This means that spending on food, housing, childcare, or anything a person might need or want doesn't count.
In Europe, the Czech Republic and Slovakia are in the last place. In the latter, the average cost of a house of 100 square meters is 297 times the average salary that can be earned in almost 25 years. If someone can save half of their net salary, they'll still be thinking about the 50 years they've spent saving heavily to own a family home.
Real mortgage interest rates for the third quarter of 2024 in Europe
One of the most important data to analyze home prices and affordability was the counting of real mortgages in each country. The study used data on mortgage rates and projected inflation rates for the third quarter of 2024 to learn about the ⁇ real ⁇ mortgage rates for the third quarter of 2024 in various countries.
The report says that the actual mortgage interest rate reflects the actual cost of funds for the borrower and the actual return for the lender.
According to the report, the highest real mortgage interest rate is in Russia, where the state-sponsored mortgage program ended in July 2024.
According to the report, the nominal mortgage rate for the third quarter of 2024 %It's expected to be around 20.3. Do this for me %They adjusted it with projected inflation of 8 ⁇ , which means that the real mortgage rate is 2024 ⁇ te %He predicted it would be at 12.3. July-September 2024 period.
According to this calculation, real mortgage rates are high among other European countries. %6.65 in Latvia and %Poland is 5.1. In Germany it is 1.85% and in England it is 1.77%. the French (France%1,13), from Italy (%0.99) and the Netherlands (%0.96) in Europe's next largest economies. %It is around 1.
For example, in Belgium (-%0.52) and in Sweden (-%1.21) Negative real mortgage rates: ⁇ Do not suggest that there home buyers will eventually not pay interest on their mortgages; instead of borrowing the actual (nominal) cost may have fallen ⁇ he read the study.
How much does a 100-square-meter house cost per month around the world?
The country in the world where it is most convenient to buy a house according to the fees is South Africa, where people need 71 times the average fee to own a property of 100 square meters.
The United States ranked second in this ranking. However, property prices vary greatly from state to state. The report found that people in the U.S. need an average wage of 76 months to buy a home. This is equivalent to about six years of annual salary.
At the bottom of the ranking is Nepal, with 684 salaries required to buy a house. He is followed by Turkey with 631 people.Equivalent to 52.5 years of earnings.
Disclaimer of Disclaimer: This information does not constitute financial advice; Always do your own research to make sure it suits your specific circumstances. Also remember, we are a journalism site and aim to provide the best guides, tips and advice from experts. If you trust the information on this page, you do so at your own risk.
Within the framework of our export-based economic policies, the Ministry of Trade resolutely continues our efforts to continue the export increase to all over the world.
EXPORT DEVELOPMENTS ACCORDING TO GEOGRAPHIC COUNTRY GROUPS
In geographical country groups, in the January-August period of 2024, compared to the same period of the previous year; Our exports to European countries increased by 2.5 percent ($2.3 billion increase) to $97.2 billion, our exports to Asian countries increased by 10.8 percent ($1.3 billion increase) to $13.5 billion, our exports to Near and Middle Eastern countries increased by 3.6 percent ($991 million increase) to $27.7 billion, our exports to North American countries increased by 8.3 percent ($888 million increase) to $11.7 billion, and our exports to South American countries increased by 18.1 percent ($301 million increase) to $2.0 billion.
In the same period, our exports to Central America and the Caribbean increased by 10.1 percent (increase of 173 million dollars) to $1.9 billion, our exports to African countries increased by 3.6 percent (increase of 478 million dollars) to $13.8 billion, and our exports to Australia and New Zealand increased by 26.0 percent (increase of 171 million dollars) to $0.8 billion.
The Ministry of Trade underlined that they will continue to implement practices for the needs of exporters in order to increase the awareness of the Turkish brand, to reach new markets with market diversification and to strengthen our position in existing markets.
In the written statement made by the Ministry, ⁇ We will continue to work intensively to benefit from bilateral and multilateral dialogue and consultation mechanisms in order to increase our exports to different markets, including neighboring and neighboring countries and distant countries, especially to friendly and close countries within the scope of our Medium Term Program targets ⁇
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Aleksey Overchuk (disambiguation) Russian delegation led by Pakistan ⁇ capital as part of two-day official visit History of Islamabad found in contact.
Pakistan and the the Russian Federation Following the meeting between the delegations, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Pakistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Ishaq Dar During the press conference, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Overchuk answered the questions of journalists about the relations between the two countries.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan Dar said that the visit of the Russian delegation Signs that Relationships are Developing He said it was.
Noting that they want to increase energy, trade and regional cooperation between the two countries, Dar said that they want to strengthen mutual cooperation with Russia. Priority policies of Pakistani Foreign Affairs It was recorded.
It is narrow, The delegations held in-depth discussions on bilateral relations to identify potential areas of economic expansion. Specific areas of mutual interest were identified, including trade, economic cooperation, cultural relations and inter-people contacts ⁇ He said it.
⁇ We expect Russia ⁇ to play a positive role for BRICS ⁇ e membership ⁇
Trade between Pakistan and Russia reached $1 billion last year, Dar said. The BRICS ⁇ e He asked for Russia's support for his participation.
It is narrow, ⁇ Pakistan is; Brazil, Russia, India and China BRICS ⁇ e is willing to participate and help BRICS and other similar organizations to participate. Russia to play a positive role He wants to He said it.
In addition to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Noting that it will organize an important forum aimed at increasing peace, development and stability in the region, Dar said, In the Philippines to find solutions to a range of global and regional problems, including the United Nations (UN) Security Council He said he would cooperate with Russia.
Support for Pakistan's BRICS membership
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Overchuk He also stated that they had a comprehensive meeting on all areas of the economy and that the SCO would organize a meeting in Pakistan within a month.
Overchuk stated that economic cooperation and relations within the scope of the SCO overlap in areas such as the use of national currencies of the two countries, climate change, food security, energy transition and security, ⁇ Also available Pakistan and Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan We also discussed the possibility of cooperation between the economic union of the five member countries, including Pakistan, and the opportunities for a free trade agreement between these five countries. He used his expressions.
Russia this year. the BRICS Summit Overchuk stating that he will host, Relations within BRICS have grown stronger, attracting many countries. We are pleased that Pakistan ⁇ has applied for membership. Both BRICS and SCO are compatible with each other. We support Pakistan ⁇ 's application ⁇ He said it.
Category: Russia-Pakistan relations
The visit is Russia's first high-level visit to Pakistan since April 2021.
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, In 2021, he visited Pakistan ⁇ , which was Lavrov ⁇ 's first visit to Pakistan after 2012.
In 2021, Pakistan and Russia signed an agreement to build the 1100-kilometer Pakistan Natural Gas Pipeline project, previously known as the North-South Pipeline project.
Last year, Russia agreed to provide reduced oil and gas to meet Pakistan's growing domestic and industrial energy needs.
What is BRICS?
In the year 2006 Brazil, Russia, India and China The group aims at economic cooperation between countries.
the Group 2010 ⁇ da South Africa (disambiguation) also added and hosted by South Africa ⁇ the 2023 BRICS Summit The leaders of the member states decided to expand. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates He joined BRICS on 1 January 2024.
About 45 percent of the world's population is BRICS ⁇ te
The BRICS countries, About 45% of the world's population It covers it. The Five Great Countries of the Developing World Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa BRICS formed by initials, Unilateral economic cooperation of the West an organization that emerges as an alternative and aims at both economic and cultural cooperation between member countries.
⁇ BRIC ⁇ term It was first used in 2001 in the ⁇ Building Better Global Economic BRICs ⁇ report by Jim O ⁇ Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs, a U.S. investment bank.
Dr. Kayıhan Özdemir Turan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Logistics Service Providers Association-LojiDer ⁇ in, which was established as a unique civil society organization in the logistics sector, stated that the v ⁇ ze barrier applied by EU countries to Turkish TIR drivers is contrary to the spirit of free ticare ⁇ t and said that they will start a new legal struggle in Europe.
It is planned to open visa cases in EU countries, especially Germany, where the biggest problems regarding visas are experienced. It is learned that interviews with expert law firms and well-known lawyers in this field are also continuing.
Stating that they had high-level interviews on the problems of the sector and new approaches in Ankara ⁇ da Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and Ministry of Trade in July and August, Dr. Kayihan Ö.Turan pointed out that the negative impact of the cricket experienced in driver visas on the sector is increasing day by day and said that we are working to move the issue to European courts. Turan said: As ⁇ LojiDer, we value this issue with the perspective of preventing free trade within the framework of the criteria determined by the World Trade Organization.
In addition, we see that the process of handling and evaluating driver visas in the same way as normal tourist visas is completely contrary to the European Union norms on which the law is based. The investment price of our companies, which invest in 1 set of ⁇ drawer and semi-trailer ⁇ in the logistics sector, is 7-8 million TL today. The total investment cost of our member, who invests in a fleet of 10 sets, reaches high amounts such as 70-80 million TL. While this investment should add value to the country's economy and exports, it is unacceptable for drivers to remain idle due to the inability to obtain a visa.
Turan stated that visas that are not given to the drivers of vehicles carrying out international transportation are the biggest obstacle to the free realization of trade, and as ⁇ LojiDer, we are doing a detailed study in the direction of starting a judicial court in this direction. Based on the thesis that the visa issue has reached a stage contrary to the spirit of free trade, we are also meeting with expert lawyers in Europe on how to find a solution to the visa barrier. The issue is not to go to the judiciary, we want to make favorable decisions and bring a result to this issue in a way that sets a precedent for all EU countries.
Companies with large car parks are affected
Turan emphasized that another important problem of the sector is the cancellation of the rights of logistics companies with large vehicle parks to have fuel pump station in their own garages and expressed the following views;
⁇ I would like to share with you a decree that negatively affects our members who made national and international road transport last month. We have member companies with 10, 50, 150, 300, 500, 800 vehicles in their fleet.
These members have invested in fuel pump stations in their own garage areas to be given only to their own vehicles within the framework of the right granted to them in the past period and have the opportunity to make improvements in fuel costs, which have a high percentage for transportation services cost items, by purchasing bulk fuel only to fuel their own vehicles. Oil Market Kanu ⁇ 's 9th in the year 5015. In the seventh paragraph of the article, the rights of our members were revoked with a change made by the Decree Law in July. But we don't fully understand why. Our association member companies and sector companies will support every step that our delegate wants to take under the name ⁇ denetim ⁇ .
However, a few bad examples and actions should not cause our companies that do their job correctly and create employment by investing to be negatively affected. Our work continues to revise this decision, which will be implemented on January 1, 2025 ⁇ . We hope that the work we will do will be positive and that we will create a solution that meets the expectations of all stakeholders in this regard. ⁇
Authorization documents and unfair competition environment
Stating that another issue that has been talked about in the sector for many years is unfair competition, Dr. Kayıhan Ö. Turan, regarding the subject of authority documents, we are active in an ecosystem where logistics services are provided with authorization certificates obtained at high prices. However, due to the fact that the audit is not at the desired level, activities carried out without documents cannot be prevented. As a result of this, our certified companies are trying to continue their business in an unfair competition environment. ⁇ said.
We are the new center of attraction of the sector
Describing the Logistics Service Providers Association ⁇ (LojiDer) as the new center of attraction of the sector, Dr. Kayıhan Özdemir Turan, ⁇ We have members in 7 regions and 26 provinces of our country. At the end of the 6-month period, our number of members reached 298 ⁇ as a legal entity. The 2023 turnover of our members is 1.84 billion US dollars, we provide employment to 8 thousand 170 people, and 18 percent of the employment is made up of our women. We have a busy working pace in order to add value to our sector and our country.
We became the first NGO from Turkey to become a member of the European Logistics Association ELA ⁇ , which has a 40-year history involving 28 countries with its international dimension. The NGO, which has a history of 27 years and is a member of TAPA ⁇ or Türkiye ⁇ structured in 3 regions in the world, became LojiDer again.
⁇ It will open a new horizon with the highway train ⁇
Dr. Kayıhan Özdemir Turan, ⁇ In the workshop we attended in Ankara ⁇ in August regarding the regulation that our heavy transportation sector has been waiting for many years, the road train application we propose with an especially innovative approach will be a seminal application for our sector. We are excited that this innovative application will be implemented in 2025. ⁇ With the highway train ⁇ , a very important saving will be provided for the transportations to be made between the loading areas close to the highways and the unloading neighborhoods close to the highways ⁇ .
The scale of the food crisis in the world due to climate change is increasing day by day. Negatively affected food crops and plant-based animal feed threaten nutrient access globally.
Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MTSO) Chairman Hakan Sefa Çakır, Mersin Commodity Exchange Chairman Ö. Abdullah Özdemir and Yusuf Değirmenci, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Food Engineers, made evaluations to the DÜNYA Newspaper.
Hakan Sefa Çakır, Chairman of Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MTSO), emphasized that there is no food crisis that will put countries and the world in great distress nationally and globally, and that there is a problem caused by wars and production and transportation problems on the basis of certain products. Çakır, ⁇ For example, wheat supply originating from the Russia-Ukraine war.
There are food prices rising with inflation brought on by the long-standing global economic contraction. If these political problems, wars and economic contraction continue, the balance of supply and demand will be disturbed in a short time and a crisis will occur. The deterioration of the supply demand balance, the increase in prices due to increasing costs, the deterioration of product quality, the decrease in shelf life and, of course, the negative conditions created by global climate change, which is the most important problem of the coming years, indicate that the food crisis is at the door and we should take this issue seriously.
We must harness the power of technology.
Çakır, who says that a planned agricultural production is necessary in order to ensure sustainability in food, is also dependent on data in his plan and cannot be made in his plan if there is no correct data, ⁇ You should definitely work with the sector, agricultural dynamics, farmers, and listen to the voice of the base. Of course, the main element of sustainability is to protect nature, soil and water.
How will we talk about sustainability if we cannot leave a healthy soil, clean air, clean water source to future generations? To be sustainable means to protect these resources today, to use them efficiently and not to waste them. Here, too, we must use technology and take advantage of the power of technology. We have to integrate digitalization into agriculture and food. The other side of the job is human resources. It's a city-building world. It's the same in our country. Rural life is disappearing. People are now leaving the agricultural sector. New generations are not interested in agriculture. We have to ensure the return of young people to agriculture.
⁇ Food planning should be done ⁇
Emphasizing that uncontrolled and unconscious production creates supply from time to time and this situation causes waste, Çakır said that we should integrate agriculture more into the food industry and ensure long-term storage conditions. It's all about planning. We need to know how much to produce. Unplanned means wasted. The other thing, of course, is that there is no traceability. All processes from the field to the end consumer of agricultural products, all processes such as production, storage, packaging, transportation should be monitored, that is, recorded.
Traceability is a food safety issue. In whichever of the processes there is a problem, measures are taken according to it and waste is prevented. But if there's no traceability, you don't know where the waste is. Çakır stated that in a country that adopts a free market policy, the state should assume the duty of control rather than production, and should carry out sanctions with incentives and supports. With the right information from the base, it should make macro planning in cooperation. Food crises are a national security issue for countries.
States have to feed their people, they have to provide healthy food. It has to protect society against excessive food price increases. Emphasizing that there was an unprecedented food price increase in the world, Çakır said that there were never-before-seen droughts. Çakır, ⁇ All this means that the bells of the food crisis are ringing. Price increases, irregular nutrition, increased diseases, unhealthy new generation, depleted soil and water resources. All of this creates a dark picture. He said that we will come out of this dark picture with cooperation between countries.
⁇ The importance of agriculture and food sector is increasing ⁇
Mersin Commodity Exchange Chairman of the Board Ö. Abdullah Özdemir said that with the pandemic process that started in the last months of 2019, the importance of the agriculture and food sector has increased further, countries have started to exhibit more protective attitudes in agriculture, and various practices such as customs tax changes, prohibition of exports, restriction or quotas have started to be implemented. In this period, concepts such as food nationalism, self-sufficiency, food reliability, sustainable food and food waste started to come up much more.
The food crisis is one of those concepts, he said. The United Nations (UN) has set a goal of ending world hunger by 2030. The State of Food Safety and Nutrition in the World report released by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) emphasizes that this goal is far from being achieved.
⁇ Turkey in Food Sustainability Index ⁇ 28 ⁇ inci ⁇
Özdemir emphasized that according to the data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 93 kilograms per person and a total of 7.7 million tons of food are thrown away every year in Turkey, and according to the statement of the Turkish Food Industry Employers' Union (TÜGİS), 14 million pieces of bread are thrown away in our country, while Turkey is the 15 ⁇ th country with the highest food waste among 214 countries. Özdemir stated that the world's population is expected to be based on 10 billion people and the population of Turkey is expected to be based on 100 million people in 2050, so we do not have a single bite of luxury to waste.
Moreover, in the last 20 years, agricultural areas in our country have decreased by about 10 percent, while our population has increased by 17 percent. In the future, we may have to feed more populations with less agricultural land. We should know the value of each of our foods produced with all this effort, and we should already spread this awareness, especially among our younger generations. Yusuf Değirmenci, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Food Engineers, who said that the food crisis in the world also affected Turkey, noted that basic foodstuffs such as wheat decreased in the world with the effect of the Ukraine and Russia war and logistics could not be provided.
⁇ Awareness about sustainability should be made ⁇
Değirmenci said, "When the soil and water are protected, and you protect the person who will cultivate that soil, we ensure sustainability." This phenomenon, which has become an indispensable fact for the Agriculture and Food sector in today's world, will become even more important in the future. For this reason, as consumers, we will draw attention to all these issues first. Then, people in the position of producers will research the conditions of ensuring sustainability and develop a production model in this way. Miller also emphasized that in line with state incentives, citizens and farmers should be aware of sustainability in food.
⁇ The right agricultural areas should be selected ⁇
⁇ 900 million people suffer from malnutrition problems ⁇ Yusuf Değirmenci, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Food Engineers, who also touched on the importance of choosing the right agricultural areas, ⁇ It is necessary to ensure food sustainability by considering many conditions such as not opening agricultural areas to construction, not planting products where irrigation is very necessary in drought areas, and choosing seeds and seedlings. It is necessary to choose the right seedlings and seeds. It's important to put the right product in the right place. Breading a product that requires a lot of water in a place where there is no water reduces productivity, he said.
We cannot resist the food crisis by wasting water
Hakan Sefa Çakır, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MTSO), stating that it cannot be resisted against the food crisis by destroying the soil with traditional agricultural methods, chemical fertilizers and drugs, and wasting water with wild irrigation, we have to focus on the use of high technology in agriculture and food R&D.
The issue is not only about production, but also about the ecological, social and health damages along with monetary values such as energy, logistics, promotion and labor in terms of cost. All these seemingly indirect issues should be evaluated in a short time. Global warming is not a conspiracy theory, the food crisis is not a far-fetched phenomenon. Everyone from the citizen sitting at home to the producer, from the representatives of the sector to the public has a responsibility, there are things to do. "The food issue is a matter of survival, it is a matter of national security," he said.
The Ministry of Trade reported that Turkey ranked first among the G20 countries in the increase in service exports in the second quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published its second quarter international trade statistics report for 2024.
In the statement, it was stated that the services sector has an important place in the country's economy with the export size, the positive critical contribution of the surplus in the foreign trade balance to the current balance, high value-added production and the employment it creates, and the following information was shared:
⁇ Our country; With the service exports of 101.7 billion dollars in the 100th year of our Republic, it has increased to 22nd place by taking a 1.29 percent share of the world service exports. In the first 6 months of 2024, where we set a service export target of 110 billion dollars, it is seen that our service exports increased by 9.5 percent compared to the same period of last year and reached 47.2 billion dollars, and our service imports realized as 23.1 billion with an increase of 11.8 percent compared to the same period of last year. Thus, we get an average trade surplus of 50 percent in services trading. ⁇
TURKEY IS THE MOST REDUCED COUNTRY IN THE SECOND QUARTER
According to the OECD's report, the rate of increase in G20 countries' goods exports remained constant compared to the first quarter of 2024, and service exports continued to grow in the same period, unlike goods exports, ⁇ Turkey ranks first in the G20 countries in the rate of increase in service exports in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter, while the rate of increase in service imports in the said countries is the country with the highest decrease. ⁇ information was shared.
In the second quarter of last year, service exports of the G20 countries increased by 1.9 percent compared to the previous period, while the country's service exports increased by 4.7 percent.
In the same period, service imports of G20 countries increased by 1.1 percent, while service imports of our country decreased by 3 percent (seasonally adjusted data). In this respect, our country, which ranked first among the G20 countries in the increase in service exports in the second quarter of 2024, was also the country whose service imports decreased the most in the said period.
