Economy
Türkiye weighs SAMP-T, Patriot purchases to bolster air defenses
Türkiye is “evaluating all options” to boost its air defenses, including the potential purchase of Patriot systems from Washington or Franco-Italian SAMP-T systems, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said Tuesday.
For years, Türkiye has been ramping up investments as it seeks to have its own fully fledged missile defenses. It is meanwhile producing components for its integrated, multilayered “Steel Dome” air defense system.
“Our core approach on this issue is clear: We are open to all cooperation that meets our country’s security needs, that includes technology-sharing and joint production, and that is sustainable and in line with the spirit of alliance,” Güler told an interview with Reuters.
Technical and political talks with the relevant countries are taking place “from time to time,” he added.
Güler’s remarks came ahead of a historic NATO summit in Ankara next week.
Türkiye has NATO’s second-largest army and in recent years has significantly cut its external dependence in the defense sector, developing one of the world’s leading defense industries.
European security initiatives
It has also been seeking to join many European initiatives aimed at revamping the continent’s defenses to counter Russia and the risk of a U.S. pullback from NATO.
Güler said that while Ankara, in principle, viewed European steps to strengthen defense and security as positive, these efforts lacked inclusivity and would therefore not be fully effective.
“We believe excluding such an important capacity (Türkiye) from Europe’s defense initiatives is a strategically inaccurate approach,” he said, adding that Ankara expected Europe to adopt a “visionary approach” and embrace cooperation with Türkiye.
On Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye must be included in all of Europe’s defense structures and that defense trade restrictions between NATO members must be removed.
“Türkiye’s indispensable contributions to European security are sometimes overlooked,” Erdoğan told parliamentary delegates from all 32 NATO member states in Istanbul. He said Türkiye wanted “to participate in all defense and security initiatives” on the continent.
At issue is Türkiye’s access to the European Union’s 150 billion euro ($176 billion) Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative, intended to strengthen European defense capabilities.
Within SAFE, firms from non-EU countries such as Türkiye, Britain and the United States can only supply up to 35% of the component costs of weaponry funded by the scheme.
If Türkiye wants its companies to be able to tap a bigger part of the funds, Ankara needs to sign a security partnership with the EU and then negotiate special access with Brussels – a process that would require approval from all 27 EU members.
“If we want to combat the tests we are facing, we must lift restrictions on defense industry trade while carrying out burden sharing in a balanced and fair manner,” Erdoğan said, adding Türkiye was doing its part in terms of reaching NATO’s defense spending targets.
Last year, allies agreed on a defense spending goal of 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035.
Güler said Türkiye was committed to that goal and was gradually increasing its spending to meet it, adding that Ankara aimed to meet all its capability targets by 2029.
He said the priority areas for defense spending were drones, anti-drone systems, air defense and missile systems, naval projects, unmanned systems and cyber capabilities, adding that the “Steel Dome” integrated air defense system would be completed “as soon as possible.”
The system, first announced in July 2024, foresees integration of locally developed missile batteries, radars, electro-optical sensors, communications modules and command-and-control centers.
It aims to provide integrated protection against low, medium and high-altitude threats through land-based and sea-based air defense platforms and sensors developed at home.
NATO security landscape stance
Türkiye will host 32 NATO leaders, as well as officials from the Gulf and Asia-Pacific region, on July 7-8 for a summit that it hopes will emphasize alliance unity and bolster deterrence.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to pull his country out of the alliance while Washington has moved to withdraw troops, planes, ships and weapons from Europe due to tensions among allies over burden-sharing, defense spending and U.S. complaints about allies’ lack of involvement in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Güler said NATO is adjusting to a shifting security landscape and suggested that the U.S. is not seeking to leave the alliance.
He said priorities for the summit would be showing allies’ increased defense spending, taking steps towards a stronger transatlantic defense industry, reaffirming unity within the alliance and boosting support for Ukraine.
“NATO continues to be an unparalleled and fundamental platform for Euro-Atlantic security and defense. We evaluate the period we are going through not as a crisis, but as a process of adjusting to the changing security environment,” Güler said.
Washington had “no intention of withdrawing” from NATO, he said, but rather wanted European allies and Canada to assume more responsibility for European security.
“It is expected that contacts and efforts on creating a concrete road map to strengthen the European pillar will intensify at the summit,” Güler said, adding that while Ankara backed a fairer burden-sharing scheme, its priority was preserving the unity of the alliance.
NATO has been under unprecedented strain, with some European allies concerned that Washington may withdraw outright or is working to fill gaps from the reduction of U.S. forces.
Güler said Washington played a central role in the bloc’s security and deterrence and that it was of strategic importance to preserve the trans-Atlantic bond.
“NATO’s current nuclear sharing arrangements and the U.S. role of extended deterrence remain fundamentally important to the security of the alliance,” he said.
Türkiye is seeking easier access to the Schengen area despite improvements under the European Union’s phased visa system, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said on Tuesday.
Bolat’s remarks came following talks with EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, who arrived in Ankara as part of a top delegation that also included EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner.
The delegation was received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and was also scheduled to hold talks with other top officials, including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek and Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu.
The recurring issue of Europe’s long-promised visa liberalization scheme was highly expected to hover over the talks as frustration grows in Türkiye over Schengen visa delays and rising rejections.
Last year, Turkish nationals submitted 1.25 million visa applications for the Schengen zone, up from 906,000 in 2019, European Commission figures show. Of that number, 1.07 million were approved.
But the rejection rate has also risen – from 9.7% in 2019 to 14.6% in 2025, prompting headlines decrying a “visa crisis.”
Bolat said the phased visa facilitation mechanism (visa cascade), introduced last year, had helped reduce application backlogs and increase the issuance of longer-term visas.
“However, growing trade, tourism and educational cooperation requires a visa-free environment. At the very least, our biggest expectation is that obtaining visas will be made easier,” he told reporters.
The minister noted that simplifying the visa application process is Ankara’s top diplomatic priority until full visa-free travel is achieved.
Talks with Kos prominently featured ongoing efforts to update the customs union agreement, said Bolat.
For decades, Türkiye and the bloc enjoyed good trade ties and cooperation on migration. However, relations have been strained over multiple issues, including the prolonged process of expansion of the scope of the customs union agreement and maritime issues with Greece and Greek Cyprus.
The deeper 1990s-era trade agreement would be expanded to services, farm goods and public procurement. The current deal only covers a limited range of industrial products.
Business groups have long argued that the deal is outdated and ill-suited for today’s trade environment.
Clarity sought on ‘Made in EU’ specifications
Bolat also said Türkiye had raised concerns over the EU’s evolving industrial policy and protectionist measures amid increasing competition with the United States and China.
Referring to the EU’s proposed Industrial Accelerator Act, Bolat said the European Commission had recently decided to treat Türkiye within the scope of the “Made in EU” industrial framework, but added that important details still needed clarification.
Bolat said Türkiye’s 30-year customs union integration with the EU and its status as a candidate country should prevent any measures that undermine the free movement of industrial goods or disrupt supply chains between Turkish and European manufacturers.
The minister also highlighted Türkiye’s strategic role as a logistics hub linking Europe, Asia and Africa, saying recent conflict in the Gulf had underscored the importance of alternative trade corridors.
He said both sides agreed that Türkiye’s transport infrastructure makes it “an excellent transit corridor” and added that EU officials acknowledged the country’s progress over the past two decades and its growing importance to Europe’s defense and industrial ecosystem.
The EU delegation’s visit comes ahead of key NATO summit in Ankara next week.
Türkiye will host 32 NATO leaders, as well as officials from the Gulf and Asia-Pacific region, on July 7-8 for a summit that it hopes will emphasize alliance unity and bolster deterrence.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to pull his country out of the alliance while Washington has moved to withdraw troops, planes, ships and weapons from Europe due to tensions among allies over burden-sharing, defense spending, and U.S. complaints about allies’ lack of involvement in reopening the Strait of Hormuz during the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran.
Earlier on Tuesday, Kos and Turkish Transport Minister Uraloğlu attended a closing meeting of the Strengthening Intermodal Transport Services in the Turkish Railway Sector (U-IMT) Project, a joint initiative co-financed by the EU and Türkiye.
“With the U-IMT Project, we achieved significant gains that will make our railway freight transport more competitive, increase the capacity of the Middle Corridor, and advance our cooperation with the European Union in the field of connectivity,” Uraloğlu said.
The project was designed to improve intermodal freight services in the Turkish railway sector and support a shift toward a safer, more environmentally friendly and balanced transport system.
It also aimed to prepare an action plan for intermodal freight services, identify strategic infrastructure needs, and strengthen the institutional capacity of relevant Turkish transport authorities.
Türkiye and Qatar have signed a strategic partnership agreement for a next-generation communications satellite project, a top official said on Tuesday.
The deal forms a long-term collaboration between Turkish satellite operator Türksat and Qatar-based Es’hailSat.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said the agreement covers the Es’hail-3/Türksat-Biruni satellite project and establishes a long-term strategic partnership focused on capacity sharing and joint commercial growth.
The agreement was signed in Doha by Es’hailSat Chair and CEO Ali Ahmed Al-Kuwari and Türksat General Manager Ahmet Hamdi Atalay.
Under the agreement, the partners will jointly utilize the capacity of the high-throughput Ka-band Es’hail-3/Türksat-Biruni satellite, which will operate at the 50 degrees East orbital position.
The cutting-edge satellite will be built by Thales Alenia Space, the joint venture between Thales and Leonardo, the company said separately on Tuesday.
The satellite will offer high-speed broadband connectivity services across Europe, Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East.
Uraloğlu said the partnership would strengthen Türksat-Biruni’s commercial capacity, expand Türkiye’s presence in global satellite communications markets and enhance the country’s competitiveness in the sector.
The project, financed by Qatar, will add a new high-capacity satellite to Türksat’s fleet. Up to 50 gigabits per second (Gbps) of satellite capacity will be made available to Türksat, helping reinforce Türkiye’s satellite communications infrastructure, said Uraloğlu.
Under the deal, the companies will also cooperate by sharing satellite assets, ground infrastructure, distribution networks and customer portfolios, aiming to optimize capacity utilization and maximize the satellite’s commercial potential from the outset.
Uraloğlu stressed that the project would preserve Türkiye’s strategic rights over the 50 degrees East orbital slot and associated frequency allocations, with no transfer of orbital or spectrum rights. The satellite will be registered under Türksat with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
He said the satellite would support broadband internet, aviation and maritime connectivity, government communications and enterprise data services across the region it will cover.
According to Uraloğlu, the agreement also deepens the strategic relationship between Türkiye and Qatar by extending bilateral cooperation into the space and satellite technologies sector.
Türkiye’s unemployment rate stood at 8.2% in May, unchanged compared to the previous month, the country’s statistical authority said Tuesday.
The number of unemployed people age 15 and over rose by 9,000 month-over-month to 2.88 million, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
The jobless rate was estimated at 7.0% for men and 10.5% for women, the institute said.
Youth unemployment, covering the 15-24 age group, climbed 0.4 percentage points to 14.8% in May.
Meanwhile, the number of employed people surged 285,000 from the previous month to 32.46 million, while the employment rate was up 0.4 percentage points to 48.5%.
The labor force participation rate also rose 0.4 percentage points to 52.8%.
The labor underutilization rate, which includes time-related underemployment, potential labor force, and unemployment, was up 0.9 percentage points to 31%.
Türkiye’s solar electricity generation reached its highest level of the year on Monday, according to industry data.
The daily output totaled 193,695 megawatt-hours (MWh), the Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEIAŞ) figures showed on Tuesday.
The previous solar electricity record was set on June 24 at 186,488 MWh.
The surge signals the beginning of a summer record streak.
Türkiye’s installed electricity capacity rose to 125,410 megawatts (MW) as of the end of April, driven by a rapid growth in renewable sources such as solar and wind. Renewables accounted for 62.5% of that.
Solar energy has been the fastest-growing segment, having reached 26,769 MW and accounting for 21.3% of total installed capacity. Wind power increased to 15,075 MW, representing 12% of total capacity.
Türkiye aims to reach a combined 120,000 MW of installed solar and wind capacity by 2035, as is seeks to gradually reduce its carbon emissions to zero by 2053.
The TEIAŞ data showed daily power consumption in Türkiye rose by around 17.3% on Monday compared to the previous day, totaling nearly 1.1 million megawatt-hours.
Hourly electricity consumption peaked at 52,572 megawatt-hours at 3 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) and fell to its lowest level of 33,273 megawatt-hours at 6 a.m. local time (0300 GMT).
Electricity production amounted to almost 1.1 million megawatt-hours on Monday, up 16.9% from the previous day.
Dam-based hydro plants accounted for around 23% of total electricity generation, while solar and imported coal plants contributed 17.8% and 15.5%, respectively.
On Monday, the country’s electricity exports totaled 9,974 megawatt-hours, while imports amounted to 4,016 megawatt-hours.
Japanese officials reiterated on Tuesday that they stand ready to respond to currency movements, maintaining the unchanged rhetoric despite the yen’s slide to a four-decade low.
The yen accelerated its decline to hit 162.41 in Tuesday morning trade after breaching the 162-per-dollar level for the first time since 1986, renewing speculation that Tokyo could intervene in the market at any time.
“It all comes down to being ready to respond appropriately to currency moves at any time,” Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said at a regular news conference, when asked about the yen’s fall past 162 per dollar, repeating language authorities have used consistently.
Responding to a question on whether her sense of urgency has changed, Katayama said her message has remained unchanged.
The references to appropriate action “includes the possibility of decisive measures, as confirmed at a recent online meeting with the United States,” she said.
Government officials have said privately that authorities’ “final warning” on April 30, issued just hours before the last bout of intervention, remains in place, underscoring the risk of sudden action in the currency market.
Tokyo spent a record 11.7 trillion yen ($72.17 billion) intervening in foreign exchange markets between late April and early May.
In a separate press conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said the government will build an economic structure that is resilient to foreign exchange fluctuations while standing ready to take action in the market if needed.
Kihara said he would not comment on the current foreign exchange levels, remarks echoed by Katayama.
The yen has remained under downward pressure despite the latest rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) this month, as the move has done little to alter the fundamental drivers in foreign exchange markets.
Japan’s interest rates remain far below those in the U.S., leaving a wide yield gap that favors the dollar and sustains carry trades, in which investors borrow cheaply in yen and invest in higher-yielding currencies.
The government’s forthcoming annual economic policy blueprint is expected to signal a preference for keeping borrowing costs low, Reuters reported last week, fuelling concerns that the central bank may be discouraged from raising rates further.
Higher tolerance for a weaker yen?
A persistently weak yen is lifting import costs and stoking price pressures, at a time when the Middle East-driven energy shock has made fuel prices volatile. But it also boosts the profits of Japanese exporters in yen terms.
The absence of an intervention is stoking speculation that the government’s tolerance threshold for yen weakness has shifted higher.
“If public support for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government remains intact despite the weak yen, the administration could interpret that as a sign that voters have accepted a weak yen,” Masafumi Yamamoto, chief strategist at Mizuho Securities, said in a report to clients.
Prashant Newnaha, a senior rates strategist at TD Securities, said unilateral intervention has so far been ineffective, and policy makers have failed to send clear signals on the possibility of intervention.
“Given the USD’s broad uptrend against global currencies, the risk is skewed towards a more delayed intervention, perhaps within a 163-165 range,” Newnaha said.
On the other hand, some traders and government officials said room for further yen weakness may be limited in light of lower oil prices and receding inflation fears in the United States.
U.S. jobs data to be released on Thursday could set a fresh direction for currency trends, they said.
Indian conglomerate Adani Group announced Tuesday that shipping giant MSC will acquire a 49% stake in its deep-water transshipment port in southern India for $1.4 billion.
The purchase by Switzerland-based MSC, the world’s largest container shipping company, represents the “single largest foreign private investment in Indian port infrastructure,” Adani said in a statement.
The agreement comes as India seeks to develop a network of major seaports and reduce its dependence on regional transshipment hubs such as Singapore and Colombo by handling a greater share of cargo domestically.
The Adani Group said MSC would buy the stake in Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited, which operates the Vizhinjam International Seaport in the southern state of Kerala.
The transaction will be carried out through MSC’s investment arm, Terminal Investment Limited, and remains subject to regulatory approvals.
The group said the partnership was expected to increase cargo volumes at Vizhinjam and help the port capture a larger share of Bangladesh cargo that is currently routed through other Southeast Asian hubs.
“Vizhinjam port has emerged as a premier transshipment hub and ramped up at an unprecedented pace,” Adani Ports chief executive Ashwani Gupta said in the statement.
Vizhinjam is India’s first dedicated deep-water container transshipment port and is designed to handle some of the large container vessels that currently bypass Indian ports.
New Delhi has outlined plans to build and expand major port infrastructure over the coming decades as it seeks to boost trade competitiveness.
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