G-20

European Union finance ministers admitted on April 8 that the world's 20 biggest economies (G-20) will miss their target of generating additional economic growth through reforms by 2018 and called for reflection on why they have failed.

Protectionist trade policies may increase, rather than reduce, a country's trade deficit, the European Central Bank said in a study on March 22, just days after finance chiefs of the world's top 20 economies dropped their pledge for open trade.

Rating agencies' perception about Turkey will likely change "for the good" when the dual-headedness of the existing system is overcome with the implementation of the presidential system, a top economy official said March 20. 

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek said March 18 that Turkey has sent almost $1 billion worth of aid to Somalia since 2011 as a part of the country's Africa strategy.      

Germany will press G-20 members to sign off on a set of principles including free trade at this week's meeting of the group's financial leaders, in what the Trump administration may perceive as a challenge to its more protectionist stance.

China said on Feb. 3 it has never used its currency as a tool to gain an advantage in trade and was not seeking a "currency war",  after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Beijing for harming American companies and consumers with a devaluation of its yuan. 

The Turkish Lira became a surprise winner on Jan. 30 by rising 1.2 percent in spite of Fitch's decision on Jan. 27 to cut the sovereign rating to "junk" and Standard & Poor's unexpected move to lower the outlook on Turkey's rating from "stable" to "negative."

Turkey has ranked 75th in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2016, falling nine places from 2015 and adding to its dramatic decline over the past four years.

According to the results, Turkey scored 41 in the index, a one-point decrease from 42 in 2015. It shared the 75th rank with Bulgaria, Kuwait and Tunisia, decreasing from its 66th rank in 2015.

Turkey is committed to tripling the market share of Islamic finance, bringing it up to 15 percent by 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said. 

Top representatives from 20 global companies have praised the Turkish economy's investment climate following the failed July 15 coup attempt, while also voicing recommendations on improving stability and educational quality, carrying out structural reforms, and prioritizing technology at the 9th Investment Advisory Council Meeting in Istanbul.