Turkey Skips Davos Over Forum Organizer Stance on Israel War

Source:Bloomberg Date:15Jan2024

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked his country’s officials to skip the World Economic Forum in Davos this week over its organizers’ stance on Israel’s war against Hamas, according to people familiar with the matter.

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek was planning to attend the annual gathering of political and business leaders until Erdogan — who’s criticized Israel’s conduct of its war in Gaza — stopped him from going, the people said, asking not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The no-show in Davos follows another change of plans by Simsek in recent days. The minister, appointed in June as part of a government shakeup by Erdogan, was set to attend a central bank-organized meeting with investors in New York last week but instead joined it virtually.