Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid attend a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkey, June 23, 2022. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
by Burak Akinci
ANKARA, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Liquidity challenges and "worst economic woes in two decades" have prompted Turkey to mend ties with regional heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia and Israel to attract their investments to help the country through its crisis, experts say.
During a rare visit to Turkey by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud last week, the two countries declared their determination to start "a new era of cooperation," setting aside years of acrimony following the 2018 murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Similar steps have also been taken by the Turkish government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to improve its relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Israel, as Ankara is struggling with a weak currency and 24-year high inflation of 73.5 percent.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcomes Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in Ankara, Turkey, on June 22, 2022. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
"There's evidently an economic dimension amid the normalization drive launched by Turkey at the beginning of 2021," Serkan Demirtas, a foreign policy analyst, told Xinhua.
The potential "contributions from these countries" include "direct foreign investments and swap agreements" that could "reinforce Turkey's low foreign currency reserves," he explained.
After a decade of animosity over Israel's deadly assault on a Turkish-led flotilla to the besieged Gaza Strip in 2010, Turkish and Israeli senior officials have paid mutual visits in the last couple of months to open what Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid hails "a new chapter" in bilateral relations, especially their cooperation in exporting Israeli natural gas to Europe via Turkey.
"In the past decade, Turkey was sidelined from ... the East Mediterranean Gas Forum formed by regional nations ... because of its acrimonious ties with (the forum's members) Greece and Egypt," Demirtas said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands with Israeli President Isaac Herzog during a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkey, on March 9, 2022. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
"But the rapprochement with Israel could end Turkey's exclusion from this international organization," the analyst added.
Tulin Daloglu, a Middle Eastern foreign policy analyst based in Turkey's capital Ankara, reacted with caution to Turkey's reconciliation with Saudi Arabia and Israel, noting it will take time for them to fully restore mutual confidence.
"While Turkey is stepping up efforts to mend ties with these countries, they may not be willing to do so at the same speed," Daloglu told Xinhua, noting the visits were largely ceremonial with no concrete action plan, reflecting more caution than resolve.
"We don't know yet how this normalization process will evolve. We have to wait and see, but it may not be finalized at the speed expected by Turkey," she concluded, highlighting Turkey's looming risks over its balance of payments.
People walk past a foreign exchange office in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 9, 2022. (Xinhua/Shadati)■
