WITH its commitment to democracy and market economy and its big and young population, Turkey is a source of stability and development for the entire region. The Turkish economy has shown remarkable performance with its steady growth over the last 10 years. A sound macroeconomic strategy in combination with prudent fiscal policies and major structural reforms has integrated the Turkish economy into the global economy, creating many opportunities for trade and industrial cooperation. Structural reforms transformed Turkey into a more democratic and economically stable and dynamic country. With the macroeconomic improvements and fiscal discipline, economic growth became sustainable. As the GDP levels tripled to $778 billion in 2011, up from $231 billion in 2002, GDP per capita exceeded $10,400, up from $3,500, in the same period. Significant improvements in such a short period of time have put Turkey on the world economic scale as an exceptional emerging economy. Turkey became the 7th biggest economy in Europe and the 16th biggest in the world according to GDP figures (at PPP) in 2011. Moreover, the visible improvements in the Turkish economy have boosted foreign trade, with exports reaching $134.5 billion by the end of 2011, up from $36 billion in 2002. Turkey ranks 32th as an exporter and 18th as an importer. Turkey is the 16th biggest commercial services exporter with a share 0.92 percent in 2011. Similarly, tourism revenues, which were around $8.5 billion in 2002, exceeded $23 billion in 2011. Turkey ranks 7th in the world and 5th in Europe among the most favorite tourism destinations. Turkey is one of the biggest economies in the region and has huge potential for future growth. Its geopolitical location and its strong ties with Caucasia, Central Asia, the Middle East and EU increase Turkey's importance as a bridge between these regions. Turkey is also the gateway to energy resources and the source of important rivers of the Middle East. Moreover, both sectoral and regional composition of exports and imports have An economy in steady growth changed in a way transforming Turkey from a peripheral, labor-intensive production center to an increasingly high-tech and capital intensive goods exporting country. Turkey has re-emerged among the developing economies as having one of the rapidly growing trade and economic power. In the last eight years, trade between Turkey and KSA showed dynamic growth and this trend is likely to continue. The volume of bilateral trade has considerably increased and during this period both exports and imports have tripled. Trade volume between Turkey and KSA reached $5.5 billion in 2008. In 2009, because of the global recession this dropped to $3.5 billion. At the end of 2011, trade volume reached to $6.2 billion. Furthermore, Turkish exports to KSA increased by an average annual rate of 20 percent between 2004 and 2011. Also, Turkish imports from KSA demonstrate upward trend during this period and reached to $3.5 billion. Industrial products make 77 percent of Saudi imports from Turkey. Agricultural products come second with a 11.5 percent share. Some 90 percent of agricultural imports constitute grains, fruit and vegetables. Iron and steel tops industrial imports, which currently stand at $792 million. Textile products comes second with a 11 percent share followed by electrical equipment at 9 percent in 2011. A closer preview of Turkish imports from KSA reveals a structural change. In 2008, the share of mineral fuels import from KSA was 74 percent, but in 2011 the share decreased to 44 percent. Industrial products, dominated by petrochemical products, began to have a major share in Turkish imports from KSA. The share of these products is about 53 percent in 2011 with a total value of $1.8 billion. Foreign direct investment inflow into Turkey rose from $1.8 billion in 2003 to $15.8 billion in 2011. Political and economic stability, structural reforms and macroeconomic improvements created an attractive environment for FDI. Success in privatization also contributed to the FDI increase. Currently FDI stock in Turkey is about $70 billion. Saudi direct investment in Turkey is valued at about $2 billion, with a share of 2.8 percent. Saudi companies mainly invested in the industrial sector. The construction sector has always been one of the key locomotives of the Turkish economy. It played a crucial role in the country's economic development, accounting for well over 6 percent of the GDP and providing jobs to some 1.4 million people. When the direct and indirect impacts on other sectors are taken into account the share of the construction sector in the Turkish economy reaches 30 percent. In 38 years till the end of 2011, Turkish contractors have undertaken 6,535 projects in 94 countries, with a total value of $213 billion. This places Turkey among the top 12 producers of building materials in the world, particularly in the supply of such products as cement, glass, steel and ceramic tiles. These numbers highlight the power the Turkish construction industry has on an international level. In 2011, 33 Turkish contracting companies were listed in the “Top 225 International Contractors” compiled by the leading international industry magazine “ENR — Engineering News Record.” Turkey ranked second in the world after China. As is the case with many other export-oriented economic activities, the unique geographical location of the country at the crossroads of three continents – Europe, Asia and Africa – contributes a great deal to the global competitiveness of Turkish construction products and contracting services. That said, Turkey's strength in the field is not only its location, as the country also boasts cost-effective services of international standards, high client satisfaction, credibility in partnerships, extensive knowledge and vast experience in a wide variety of projects, familiarity with the business environments in nearby regions, a qualified manpower and a calculated risk-based approach to business. Turkish contracting services in Saudi Arabia has increased between 2002-2011 period as well. The value of ongoing projects exceeded $5 billion.
