Turkey targets 30% hike in military spending next year

Source:al Monitor Date:19Oct2017

This article should be read with great interest by financial investors doing business in Turkey, who had so far paid no attention whatsoever  to the turmoil in Iraq and Syria.  In addition to the vital security threats these developments pose to Turkey, Iraq and Syria trigger substantial increases in the defense budget, which might reach 0.6% of GDP in 2018.  Total budgetary outlays for defense are estimated in this article as 3% of expected GDP, and 12% of the total expenditures.

Spending will increase in subsequent years, as Turkey adjusts to asymmetric threats, adopts new technology and increases its involvement in Iraq-Syria geography to insulate its borders from PKK, its proxies  and the onslaught of fundamentalist militants.