TEPAV Director Sak: “Turkey Has Weak Connectivity with the Asia-Pacific Region, Investment in Transport Necessary.” TEPAV Director Güven Sak delivered a presentation at the UN Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific launch event.

ANKARA – TEPAV Director Güven Sak stressed that weak connectivity with Asian and Pacific countries brought problems for Turkey. Investments on transportation infrastructure were needed to strengthen Turkey’s integration into Asia.

The United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific was introduced at the United Nations Ankara Office on Thursday, 10 May 2012, simultaneously with the rest of the world. The launch event was held with the participation of UN Resident Coordinator Shahid Najam, UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Economic Officer Dr. Muhammad Hussain Malik, and TEPAV Director Prof. Güven Sak.

Assessing the survey and analyzing the link between the Turkish and Asian and Pacific economies, Sak said that though crisis at the center was a negative externality for all economies, it was important to watch out for Asia, the growth engine of the world. Arguing that the Asian integration model was different and low compared to that of the European Union, he stressed that the former focused on integration by market interaction. He stated that the Middle East could follow the same path for integration with Turkey and that Turkey had to invest in its transport infrastructure to increase integration with Asia. In this context, he cited the Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad Train project initiated by TEPAV.

Delivering the opening speech, Shahid Najam stressed that enhancing regional integration was the responsibility of countries that have the authority to undertake regulations that can facilitate integration. Muhammad Hussain Malik stressed that the latest global crisis had started a new period of uncertainty that had harmed the growth and job creation performance of almost all Asia and Pacific countries substantially.

The survey covers Turkey as well …

The UN survey also covered Turkey. It drew attention to the anticipated economic slowdown and projected growth to decrease to 3.2 percent in 2012. Therefore, the survey said, economic growth was halved while inflation increased by 50 percent. Stating that the budget deficit had been falling over the last two years while current account deficit had been raising concerns, the survey said, “The sustainability of such a large deficit raises concerns about its financing given the ongoing global financial volatility.”