Turkey in April 2026: the most important developments in economy
Turkey in April 2026 promoted itself as an alternative route for energy and trade while the Middle East war disrupted the Strait of Hormuz. On 3 April Ankara said it had developed five alternative oil and gas routes around the strait, and on 4 April it announced that a second Turkish-operated vessel had passed through after Iran approved humanitarian passage. On 18 April Turkey promoted the "Middle Corridor" as an alternative for energy transit, and the next day the head of the International Energy Agency proposed an Iraq-Turkey pipeline to bypass Hormuz, according to Hurriyet. Turkey, Syria and Jordan signed a regional trade corridor deal on 9 April and unveiled a Gulf-Europe rail corridor on 20 April. Firms were reported to be considering the Istanbul Financial Center, and Turkey said its gas pipeline contract with Iran was nearing expiry with no talks yet on an extension.
At home, inflation fell to 30.8 percent in March. Gold reserves dropped by nearly 120 tonnes over two weeks and first-quarter car sales fell nearly 4 percent. Turkey raised gas and electricity prices, policymakers defended their economic steps on 5 April while investors saw a rate hike as possible, and on 19 April a report asked whether Turkey would be forced to reverse its rate cuts. On 10 April the leadership of the state lenders Halkbank and Vakifbank was overhauled.
Defense and energy ventures abroad also featured. President Erdogan said Turkey aims to rank among the world's top ten defense exporters by 2028; defense and aerospace exports reached nearly 2 billion dollars in the first quarter, and ammunition producers planned to raise output as Europe seeks supply. A Turkish drillship arrived in Somalia for the country's first overseas deep-sea mission, a campaign of nearly ten months tied to Somalia's first offshore oil drilling. Turkish firms were in talks with Rosatom over stakes in the Akkuyu nuclear plant.
In business, Arcelik agreed to exit its Hitachi venture in a 261 million dollar deal, Heidelberg Materials doubled its stake in a Turkish cement producer to gain majority control, and a Turkish company announced a 16.5 million dollar investment in Egypt creating 2,500 jobs.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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