Türkiye's foreign direct investment (FDI) strategy, revealed via a document from the Presidency's Investment Office, is designed as a roadmap for attracting investments that will make the country one of the world's most important production and export centers at a time when the global economic geography is being reshaped, according to its head on Monday.
The main goal of the strategy, revealed via a document titled "Türkiye Foreign Direct Investment Strategy 2024-2028," is to increase the country's share of the FDI pie to 1.5% on the global scale through qualified projects by 2028 and increase its regional share in FDI inflows to 12%, according to the country's Official Gazette and the Investment Office.
In a statement to Anadolu Agency (AA) regarding the strategy, the head of the Investment Office A. Burak Dağlıoğlu said the strategy is one of the most important components of the vision of the "Century of Türkiye," and the strategy, which aims to support Türkiye's economic development with a sustainable and technological transformation-oriented approach, aims to attract more qualified investments by taking into account global investment trends.
"In line with the goal of being among the world's top 10 economies set by our president, this strategy will increase the global competitiveness of our country, accelerate economic growth and expand qualified employment areas," he said.
He said the new strategy was prepared by taking into account global trends such as the reshaping of global supply chains, reverse globalization and protectionism trends, macroeconomic uncertainties, climate change and environmental sustainability, digitalization, and regional and national industrial policies gaining weight and noted that these trends are important factors affecting the decisions of investors, and Türkiye's adaptation to this changing world order is one of the most critical elements of the strategy.
Main objectives
Dağlıoğlu said that Türkiye's FDI strategy is designed as a roadmap to transform Türkiye into one of the world's leading investment, production and export centers at a time when the global economic geography is being reshaped and said that the strategy document, prepared by the Investment Office with the active contributions of all relevant stakeholders, adopts a sustainable development-oriented and evidence-based approach that takes into account global trends.
Noting that this document, which forms the framework of international direct investment policies in Türkiye, is intended to be a guide not only for the Investment Office but also for all stakeholders in the ecosystem, he said "the focus of the strategy document, which will serve Türkiye's long-term development goals, is to attract more qualified investments with high added value, supporting green and digital transformation, based on high technology and providing quality employment.
"The main objective of the strategy is to increase Türkiye's share of global capital flows through qualified investments and to increase it to 1.5% by 2028."
Türkiye has created an investor-friendly environment that paves the way for the private sector in the economy and has already become a center of attraction for international direct investments thanks to the reform process it has been carrying out uninterruptedly for 21 years, he said.
In the new period, the country will continue to strengthen this quality and will continue to be one of the leading economies preferred by international investments, growing and developing, he noted.
'Projects that guarantee future'
Dağlıoğlu emphasized that climate-friendly investments, digital investments, global supply chain-oriented investments, knowledge-intensive investments, investments that provide qualified employment, value-added service investments and qualified financial investments are among the qualified investments targeted within the scope of Türkiye's 2024-2028 strategy and that these investments will make significant contributions to the country's sustainable development and technological transformation.
"As part of our vision of the 'Century of Türkiye,' each of these investments are projects that will guarantee our future," he said.
Highlighting that Türkiye's new strategy aims to achieve sustainable development by supporting a green and digital transformation, he said that policies will be implemented to encourage renewable energy investments, expand the use of environmentally friendly technologies and strengthen digital infrastructure, which will accelerate Türkiye's climate-friendly and digital transformation processes, create an attractive investment environment for international investors, and aim to be one of the leading countries of green and digital transformation in the "Century of Türkiye."
Strategy to boost competitiveness
Noting that the implementation of the new strategy will focus on five main policy areas, he said these areas are investment environment competitiveness, green transformation, digital transformation, global value chains and qualified human resources.
He emphasized that the new strategy will significantly increase Türkiye's regional competitiveness.
"Türkiye stands out in its region with its strategic location, qualified workforce and strong logistics infrastructure."
"The strategy aims to utilize these advantages to capture a larger share of the regional direct investment pie. In addition, the economic and technological development of our country will be supported by increasing the regional share of investments coming to Türkiye. In the 'Century of Türkiye,' we want to reinforce our goal of regional leadership," he added.
He said investors will be offered a wide range of incentive mechanisms under the new strategy.
"These incentives include tax reductions, investment support, infrastructure services and acceleration of bureaucratic processes."
In addition, innovative financing opportunities and digital infrastructure investments will also be supported to develop the technology entrepreneurship ecosystem, he noted, adding these incentives will make it attractive for international investors to invest in Türkiye.
"In the 'Century of Türkiye,' we aim to be one of the most attractive countries for investors," he stressed.
As part of the strategy, the Investment Office highlighted that Türkiye, strategically situated at the crossroads of the Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa region (CEEMENA), stands out as one of the leading destinations increasingly attracting a significant amount of FDI in the world, thanks to its strategic location.
International investors scouting for new locations in the CEEMENA region for their new investments across diverse sectors and activities frequently short-list several countries, including Türkiye.
The office also noted Türkiye as being the second most attractive destination for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in CEEMENA. Based on the number of projects, it has attracted 8.3% of M&A projects in CEEMENA over the past 20 years, it said.
Global economic powerhouse
In his introduction to Türkiye’s FDI strategy, Dağlıoğlu emphasized that Türkiye continues to claim to be a determined destination for financial and strategic investments thanks to its diversified economy and business culture that supports entrepreneurship.
Thanks to its robust economic performance in the 2003-2023 period and the high-level value propositions it offers to investors, Türkiye has achieved a significant acceleration in FDI inflows and has come out to the forefront in the region with a total of $262 billion of FDI, he said.
"Türkiye, which hosts more than 80,000 multinational companies, has become a regional economic center where the production activities of these companies are supported by R&D centers, design teams, purchasing offices, logistics bases and regional management centers," he said.
"We are determined to maintain this performance with the 'Century of Türkiye' vision put forward by the president and to transform Türkiye from a regional economic center to a global economic power center."
"At a turning point where the competitiveness of countries is redefined by their alignment with sustainable development goals and digital transformation capabilities, and where global supply chains are being reshaped, Türkiye stands out as one of the most prepared countries to successfully overcome this challenge," he added.