Türkiye is emerging as a standout destination for foreign investors despite global geopolitical and trade challenges, according to the head of the Presidency's Investment and Finance Office, Ahmet Burak Dağlıoğlu, on Tuesday.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), on the sidelines of the U.K.-Türkiye-Islamic Finance Forum in London, Dağlıoğlu pointed to what he said was Türkiye’s growing reputation as "a stable and peace-oriented player in a volatile region."
"Investors highlight that Türkiye is a stable country in the region and, despite the surrounding instability, offers a peaceful solution within its region. This makes Türkiye positively differentiated," he told AA.
Organized by the Participation Banks Association of Türkiye (TKBB) and U.K. Export Finance, the summit aims to enhance international cooperation in Islamic finance.
Dağlıoğlu underlined the importance of such collaborations, pointing to Türkiye's robust participation finance sector.
"Türkiye already has a substantial participation finance sector, significantly above the global average," he noted.
"We hope such collaborations will eventually turn into investments in the medium and long term."
In line with this, Dağlıoğlu also highlighted the strategic role of the Istanbul Financial Center (IFC) in positioning Türkiye as a global hub for Islamic finance.
IFC, which opened two years ago, is situated on Istanbul's Asian side, hosting offices of major banks and financial institutions in the country, including the Istanbul office of the central bank.
Touching upon business contacts a day earlier, he said that they met with fund managers from different European countries within the scope of their contacts in London and explained that in Türkiye, especially in the period following the COVID-19 pandemic, the export-oriented manufacturing industry, industrial investments and technology investments have increased rapidly.
Dağlıoğlu recalled that Türkiye had seen annual early-stage technology investments of $100 million in the period leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, but added that this average has surpassed $1 billion annually post-pandemic.
"In the last four years, around $5 billion has been invested in this field," he said.
"We are telling this story and making efforts to attract new investors. We see that technology investments will play an important role in investments in Türkiye in the foreseeable future and will be an important driving force," he furthered.
He noted active funding rounds in the fintech, deep tech, biotech, and life sciences sectors, which are playing a vital role in current foreign direct investment (FDI) figures.
Furthermore, he also addressed global trade tensions, particularly the impact of U.S. tariffs.
"They (investors) view Türkiye as a stable country in its region – one offering peaceful solutions to instability," he said, referring to investor sentiment. "Türkiye's trade policy position is also seen positively ... the 10% lower tariff limit applied to Türkiye is seen as a favorable indication."
Dağlıoğlu also pointed out that Türkiye’s annualized FDI over the past year has surpassed $12 billion.
"At a time when investments in the world are decreasing, this is around the long-term average of Türkiye. This is a positive indicator. Secondly, projects in the portfolio are progressing, and the progress of investors continues. New investment funding rounds, projects in the manufacturing industry are continuing," he elaborated.
"If we see international direct investment reach the $13-$14 billion range by the end of the year, it wouldn't be surprising – we could expect it," he said.
"Of course, depending on the developments in the world, the economic developments, and also our export markets ... if the developments in these areas do not cause any additional negative effects, we hope we will see a good investment year," he concluded.
