What is the cost of terrorism to Turkey's economy?

I should say at the beginning that I won?t drown you in many complicated figures and calculations. The answer of the question in the title was already given by Finance Minister Mehmet ?im?ek last December - though things have changed so much since then that a quick reminder seems necessary. In a country like Turkey where the agenda changes not in years, but in minutes, please don?t scoff at such reminders. 

Turkey has lost some $350 billion directly and $1 trillion indirectly over the last 30-40 years due to terrorism and its spillover effects, ?im?ek said in a speech on Dec. 26, 2014.

?It is not easy to calculate how much terrorism costs Turkey. Turkey has lost around $350 billion over the last 30-40 years due to terrorism, according to several experts. We can say that terrorism has cost Turkey around $1 trillion overall,? he said.

Due to terrorism, Turkey?s eastern and southeastern regions have been unable attract direct investment, despite fertile agricultural soil and a young population, ?im?ek also noted. 

?Terrorism and other unlawful actions, such as drug trafficking, fuel each other. Organized money laundering is the biggest problem here. The fight against these actions must be multilateral,? he added. 

As the minister pointed out at the time, under the shadow of terrorism Turkey?s eastern and southeastern regions could not see investments or tourist flows for many years. This is without even mentioning the thousands of people who lost their lives during the conflict. 

In the last couple of years, Turkey and its eastern regions seemed to finally be leaving the disastrous days behind them - on the way to flourishing with the peace process. 

For instance, the peace talks helped boost the tourist...