The Turkish government on Sunday announced a major development initiative that envisages allocation of almost TL 500 billion ($14 billion) to address disparities and reduce the economic gap between the southeastern region and the rest of the country.
The eastern and southeastern provinces of Türkiye have long lagged behind other regions in most economic indicators, including gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, partly as a result of terrorist attacks by the PKK terrorist organization.
The plan comes amid increased hopes for an end to a decadeslong campaign by the PKK in southeast Türkiye, as well as the advent of a new leadership in neighboring Syria.
Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır told reporters in the southeastern city of Şanlıurfa that the government would spend a total of TL 496.2 billion ($14.15 billion) on 198 projects across the region in the period to 2028.
"With the implementation of the projects, we anticipate an additional TL 49,000 increase in annual income per capita in the region," he added.
According to 2023 data, the per capita income of Şanlıurfa stood at $4,971, well below the national average of $13,243.
The plan aims to narrow this gap and enhance the region's contribution to the country's development.
Meanwhile, the southeastern region is still recovering from devastating earthquakes that struck 11 provinces in February 2023, claiming more than 50,000 lives and destroying hundreds of thousands of buildings.
The initiative under the new Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP) Action Plan envisages the creation of 570,246 new jobs in the region by 2028.
That will add to the 360,000 jobs Kacır said had been created over the last 22 years through the establishment of 20 organized industrial zones in nine provinces in the GAP region.
The event in Şanlıurfa was chaired by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and, alongside Kacır, was attended by Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumaklı and Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Işıkhan.
Regarding the prospects for peace in southeast Türkiye, two lawmakers from a party close to the PKK met the group's jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, on Saturday. It marked the first such visit in nearly a decade, and lawmakers quoted him as indicating he might be ready to call on the group to lay down arms.
The visit followed an unprecedented call by Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli on Öcalan to end the PKK's 40-year terror campaign that has killed more than 40,000 people in Türkiye.
The group's attacks were mainly focused on southeast Türkiye in the past.
"Terrorism has caused great harm to eastern and southeastern regions of the country ... A terror-free Türkiye will create great benefit to the region," Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said on Sunday at the event in Şanlıurfa.
Türkiye and Western countries, including the United States, classify the PKK as a terrorist organization.
Yılmaz also referred to recent developments in Syria, where opposition forces took power this month after the overthrow of longtime dictator Bashar Assad and his flight to Russia.
"The opportunities that will come with the new era in Syria will increase the welfare of our entire country. Our southeastern region will benefit more from these developments," Yılmaz said.
He also highlighted the multibillion-dollar Development Road project with Iraq, which is planned to serve as a new freight link between Asia and Europe via upgraded rail and road infrastructure through Iraq and Türkiye.
The initiative will make a great contribution to the GAP region, said Yılmaz.
The GAP Action Plan consists of five priority transformation programs, the largest of which is a TL 214.2 billion irrigation program.
"With the new action plan, we aim to complete irrigation investments, promote efficient and smart agricultural practices, foster tourism-oriented growth, and most importantly, improve the investment climate for the private sector," said Yılmaz.
Additionally, the first regional Economic Coordination Board (EKK) meeting, chaired by Yılmaz, was held in Şanlıurfa on Sunday. Regional EKK meetings will continue in Konya, Giresun, and Erzurum provinces.
"The recent developments in Syria and their potential impact on our foreign trade have been evaluated, and the policies to be followed in the new period have been discussed," a statement following the EKK meeting said.
Yılmaz emphasized that efforts to date have strengthened stability and advanced the region in all aspects of development, noting that the classical scope of GAP has been largely completed.
Explaining that the development process in the GAP region will never truly end, Yılmaz stated that energy investments are also nearing completion.
“We have made more than TL 1 trillion in public investments in the GAP region between 2003 and 2024, based on current prices,” he said.
In 2002, the total exports of the nine provinces in the region amounted to $689 million. This figure reached $13.7 billion by 2023, marking a twentyfold increase, said Yılmaz.
He also pointed out that the share of GAP provinces in total exports increased from 1.9% to 5.3%, and workforce participation has grown significantly.
The employment in the region reached more than 2.42 million as of the end of 2023, nearly double compared to nearly 1.3 million people who were employed back in 2004.
