Top development aid agencies in Turkey

Led mainly by governmental and multilateral agencies, Turkey’s growing international development sector is steadily solidifying its position as a regional powerhouse. Turkey remains listed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development as an aid recipient. Nonetheless, its official development assistance in 2012 exceeded $2.5 billion, double what the fledgling donor gave in 2011. Of this, $2.4 billion was disbursed bilaterally and the rest was coursed through multilateral channels. Central Asia, the Balkans and the Caucasus have traditionally been the main beneficiaries of Turkey’s assistance as Turkish kinship plays an important role in its foreign aid strategy. Over the past decade, however, the Turkish foreign aid program has expanded beyond its traditional development partners — particularly to fragile states, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Myanmar. In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, Turkey has also disbursed large sums of aid to accommodate Syrian refugees in Turkey, as well as to the governments of Egypt and Tunisia. Turkey has also been pushing to become a home for multilateral agencies that support economic and development assistance cooperation regionally. Devex mapped out the expanding Turkish international development landscape, which can be divided into governmental development bodies providing assistance to other countries and multilateral agencies with operations in the country. TURKISH DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES Turkey’s main development assistance agencies provide traditional ODA, export financing and humanitarian assistance around the world. Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency Established in 1992, the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency is responsible for collecting and reporting the country’s ODA data to the OECD. TIKA, Turkey’s principal development aid agency, operates in more than 100 countries around the world and has at least 35 program coordination offices globally. TIKA’s main operational activities include building capacity, dispatching experts, providing equipment, financing infrastructure and construction projects, and extending humanitarian assistance to developing countries. TIKA acts as a mediator in the delivery of project and program aid and technical assistance in various fields, especially education, global health, economic infrastructure and services provided by Turkish public sector institutions and enterprises to developing countries. About $185 million of Turkish development assistance in 2012 was delivered through TIKA. Turk Eximbank State-owned Turk Eximbank is one of few export credit agencies worldwide that directly provides low-interest and long-term loans to developing countries. The bank currently focuses on short-term trade financing but aims to eventually concentrate on guarantee and insurance programs and medium and long-term trade and project finance. In 2012, Turk Eximbank provided loans for the potable water supply projects and construction of prefabricated hospitals in Ghana. All in all, the bank provided $15.1 billion in loans and $6.9 billion in insurance and guarantee products that year. Turkish Red Crescent Society The Turkish Red Crescent Society, or Kizilay, evolved from a late Ottoman-period relief organization, Hilali Ahmer Cemiyeti, established in 1868. Its branches in the Balkans and across the Middle East comprise the present-day Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in these regions. In recent decades, the society has increased its international relief activities and has provided humanitarian aid mainly to countries in the Balkans, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Pakistan, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Sudan and Haiti. It also builds and runs hospitals in disaster-affected areas. Kizilay disbursed $5 million in Turkish assistance in 2012. Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency Established in 2009, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, or AFAD, is the government body responsible for coordinating Turkish response to disasters and emergencies. AFAD essentially functions like an umbrella organization for disaster response, and coordinates with the Turkish General Staff, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and other relevant ministries, as well as with nongovernmental organizations. AFAD has been able to respond quickly to several national and international disasters, including in Haiti, Japan, Chile and Myanmar. In addition, it has implemented evacuation and humanitarian operations in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt and Syria. In 2012, AFAD delivered more than $38 million worth of Turkish assistance. Ministry of Health Established in 1920, the Ministry of Health creates policies, implements national health strategies and provides health services for the government. Under a recently finalized health and medicine agreement between Turkey and other countries, the ministry is now also responsible for implementing projects that would help developing countries make use of the latest medical advances. Further, the Ministry of Health deploys physicians and health staff to countries where their services may be needed. In 2012, 149 physicians and health professional were sent to Albania, Azerbaijan, the Palestinian territories, Guinea, Cameroon, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Yemen. Nearly $30 million of Turkish assistance in 2012 was delivered through the ministry. MULTILATERAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES BASED IN TURKEY As Turkey looks to boost international development cooperation, it has become home to some multilateral development bodies. Economic Cooperation Organization Trade and Development Bank The three founding members of the Economic Cooperation Organization — Iran, Pakistan and Turkey — established the trade and development bank in 2005. The bank welcomed its most recent member, Azerbaijan, in 2013 and is currently processing Kyrgyzstan’s membership. The bank provides soft loans for development programs in ECO member countries, namely: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Its main goal is to fund development projects and advance interregional trade among ECO member countries. Developing 8 D-8 was established in 1997 by Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey to foster development cooperation among member states. The group collaborates on various sectors, including trade, finance, banking and privatization, rural development and poverty alleviation. Association of National Development Finance Institutions in Member Countries of the Islamic Development Bank Established in 1987, ADFIMI aims to make development finance institutions and banks in the region more effective by creating venues for members to work together and share knowledge and expertise. It also provides training and capacity building programs for member institutions and acts as a forum for development. Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Established in 1992, the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, or BSEC, aims to promote peace, security and prosperity in the Black Sea Region by facilitating economic cooperation among member states. It serves as a forum for cooperation on a wide range of areas, including agriculture, organized crime, culture, education, energy, tourism, trade, transport, and banking and finance. BSEC also fosters partnerships with third parties (states, international organizations and institutions) in pursuit of common interests. Derya Deniz, Nikita Agrawal, Ariane Ramirez and Jacquelyn Garrido contributed reporting. Devex published a version of this article in April 2011. Join the Devex community and gain access to more in-depth analysis, breaking news and business advice — and a host of other services — on international development, humanitarian aid and global health.