ISRAELI PRESIDENT PAYS FIRST VISIT TO TURKEY IN 14 YEARS

Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Turkey at the invitation of President Tayyip Erdogan, the most senior Israeli visit since 2008 as the regional rivals work to mend years of strained ties. The visit will be a turning point in relations, according to President Erdogan. “Our goal is to revive political dialogue based on mutual interests,” Erdogan said in a joint press conference. The parties are seeking to cool years of animosity, primarily over Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and Ankara’s support for the militant Islamist group Hamas governing Gaza. “I think this is an opportunity to revive the cooperation on the topic of energy that began before,” Erdogan added, referring to the activities of Turkey’s drilling and seismic ships in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Herzog said the two countries must agree that they would not agree on everything. “But we shall aspire to solve our disagreements with mutual respect and goodwill, through the proper mechanisms and institutions, which we shall develop together, and with our sights together on a common future,” he added. Turkey and Israel have maintained trade, which stood at USD 6.7bn in 2021, up from USD 5bn in 2019 and 2020. President Erdogan said he hoped trade would reach USD 10bn this year.

The Treasury’s cash balance registered a TRY 55.5bn surplus in February, according to the Ministry of Treasury and Finance. Cash revenues of the Treasury amounted to TRY 277.5bn last month, jumping 183% on a TRY basis from February 2021. Including interest payments of TRY 41.1bn, its expenditures hit some TRY 222.8bn, up 119% year-onyear. The Treasury’s non-interest expenditures amounted to nearly TRY 181.7bn. The Treasury in February received TRY 750m in privatization or fund income – including transfers by the Turkish Privatization Administration, 4.5G license payments, and land sale revenues.