Can Qatar and Germany save Turkey’s economy?
The Turkish lira was up a few points after Qatar's leaders pledged to help Turkey and German Chancellor Angela Merkel made some positive statements, but will this be enough to get Turkey through its currency crisis?
Following Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s three-and-a-half-hour meeting with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Bloomberg’s Turkish reporters delivered the following analysis: “President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has found a benefactor to help pull Turkey from the brink of a financial crisis, as Qatar promised to invest $15 billion in the country. With the pledge, Turkey is reaping the rewards of standing by its wealthy Arab ally while Gulf neighbors led by Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar last year.”
After the Qatari pledge, the Turkish lira was up a few points following one of the worst currency crises to hit the Turkish economy. It appears that rushing to Qatar’s help following its conflict with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt paid off for Erdogan. Since last year’s Gulf crisis, the two countries have gradually strengthened their cooperation.
Erdogan is trying to shore up support wherever he can in his spat with President Donald Trump since tensions between Ankara and Washington have exacerbated Turkey’s financial bottleneck. However, many experts think the current currency crisis is a homemade problem and that Erdogan himself is to blame more than anybody else because of his erratic economic policies.
“Angela Merkel is reminding Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he has a potential ally in Berlin, offering Germany’s credibility to avert a spillover of economic turmoil. As Erdogan seeks to shield Turkey’s economy from a feud with President Donald Trump, he and the German chancellor spoke by phone on Wednesday to arrange a meeting of both countries’ finance ministers. … Germany wants Turkey to avoid a financial meltdown and can’t allow the country to descend into chaos, according to a person familiar with Merkel’s thinking who asked not to be identified,” Bloomberg also reported.
