Podcasts
04/04/2020
Lebanon and Turkey take economic hit amid coronavirus pandemic
Going into the month of March 2020, both Lebanon and Turkey were already dealing with enough economic problems as it was. Lebanon had already requested the IMF step in after the country was left with no choice but to default on its debt payments.
Turkey, meanwhile, had made no such request as to do so would contradict years of political rhetoric played on repeat by the country's governing AK Party boasting of its repayment of IMF debts accumulated by previous governments. Nonetheless, Turkey's economy has been in recession since 2018 when the Turkish Lira hit its lowest against the US dollar. The Turkish Lira may have showed early signs of bouncing back, but following short lived improvements, the currency then continued down the trajectory of devaluation it was on previously, and in March came very close to a low similar to that of late 2018.
This is alarming because throughout the last decade while much of the region was in turmoil, Turkey and Lebanon remained relatively peaceful and stable. But now - as if the increasing inflation, austerity and unemployment rates weren't enough - these countries now have to deal with the coronavirus outbreak which has hit world trade severely, with the lucrative tourism sector probably taking the hardest battering just before the summer months. Like many other countries in the world that do not have the resources to weather this storm, Turkey and Lebanon could face total collapse, leading to even more dangerous tribalism, sectarianism and potentially, civil war.
Radio EastMed’s Editor-in-Chief Ertan Karpazli has more.
To listen to the full podcast rounding up all the major events of March 2020 in the Eastern Mediterranean, please visit the following link: https://youtu.be/fVEheYFqFY4
Turkey, meanwhile, had made no such request as to do so would contradict years of political rhetoric played on repeat by the country's governing AK Party boasting of its repayment of IMF debts accumulated by previous governments. Nonetheless, Turkey's economy has been in recession since 2018 when the Turkish Lira hit its lowest against the US dollar. The Turkish Lira may have showed early signs of bouncing back, but following short lived improvements, the currency then continued down the trajectory of devaluation it was on previously, and in March came very close to a low similar to that of late 2018.
This is alarming because throughout the last decade while much of the region was in turmoil, Turkey and Lebanon remained relatively peaceful and stable. But now - as if the increasing inflation, austerity and unemployment rates weren't enough - these countries now have to deal with the coronavirus outbreak which has hit world trade severely, with the lucrative tourism sector probably taking the hardest battering just before the summer months. Like many other countries in the world that do not have the resources to weather this storm, Turkey and Lebanon could face total collapse, leading to even more dangerous tribalism, sectarianism and potentially, civil war.
Radio EastMed’s Editor-in-Chief Ertan Karpazli has more.
To listen to the full podcast rounding up all the major events of March 2020 in the Eastern Mediterranean, please visit the following link: https://youtu.be/fVEheYFqFY4
