2nd December 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I wrote a blog last year called “Why Turkey can be confident”. The point of that blog was to say that, given that Turkey was a large country with a trillion-dollar economy playing an influential role in world affairs, I couldn’t understand why some people argued that events inside Turkey were determined to a large […]
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28th February 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Are women better at business than men? I found myself asking this question after visiting KAGIDER, the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey, here in Istanbul. KAGIDER is a fine organisation. A group of top women business types set it up in 2002. Its goals include developing entrepreneurship among women; strengthening women’s status economically […]
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22nd January 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The first click brings up a Turkish company seeking bids to repair a turbine generator system. Further down there is an analysis of recent economic developments in Turkey; and a question (and answer) about how to open a cupcake store with English recipes. Welcome to the Turkey page of the ‘Open to Export’ website. Open to […]
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10th January 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Who is referring to Turkey as one of “The next economic giants”? The answer is Jim O’Neill, the British economist famous for inventing the term “BRIC” – for Brazil, Russia, India and China – in 2001 as the next big thing in the world economy. Since then, these economies have grown strongly. Now […]
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19th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I was struck by a recent newspaper article saying that British nationals had bought over 1,300 properties in Turkey in the last nine months. Only German nationals (2,557) had bought more. It was a useful reminder of the strengths of the links between Turkey and the UK. Around 35,000 British nationals are resident in Turkey, […]
Read more on Brits in Turkey: where to get advice | Reply (3)
15th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
What links Turkey, Iceland, press freedom and Google? My recent blog “World Press Freedom Index: Turkey” was the most-read blog I have written since coming to Turkey. So I was interested to see reports recently about the balance which all countries must strike between media freedoms; genuine security concerns; and ensuring that the extent to […]
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25th February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Two vast bridges spans a picturesque strait. Nearby, engineers are completing a rail tunnel which, like the bridges, will link Europe and Asia. A third bridge is under construction. A road tunnel is planned, together with a brand-new airport which, with a capacity of 150 million passengers, will be the world’s largest. Welcome to Istanbul. […]
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15th February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
My recent (cheeringly popular) blog ‘Why is everyone investing in the UK? why aren’t you?’ noted the brilliance of Britain as a top destination for European HQs for businesses from Turkey and elsewhere. One recent example of this is the recent decision by the Turkish Group Florence Nightingale to set up its European HQs in London, in […]
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13th February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
In the Palm Court of the British Consulate-General in Istanbul, staff are gathered from British Embassies in eight South Caucasus and Central Asian countries1 ranging from Georgia in the west to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in the east. Trade and Investment specialists from the British Embassy in Moscow and from UK Trade and Investment in London as […]
Read more on Helping British Businesses from Istanbul to Bishkek to Moscow and beyond | Reply (2)
7th February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
This seems to be the time of year for international comparative indeces. I blogged recently about the latest statistics on press freedom. Now someone has pointed out that I didn’t cover the latest Transparency International Corruption Index, published in December. The Transparency International figures are controversial. The full name of the index is “The Corruption Perceptions […]
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