ANKARA: Turkey's Foreign Aid Declines

[Vanyan Gary]

Zaman, Turkey
May 1 2004


Turkey's Foreign Aid Declines


Turkey provided US$145.7 million in official support to various
countries in 2003, down from US$157.7 million in 2002. The State
Institute of Statistics (DIE) conducted research to detail how Turkey
disbursed its foreign aid.

According to the research, the US$145.76 million in official support
could be further broken down into US$38.7 million in official aid,
US$40.2 million in official donations to foreign countries and US$66.8
million in payments to various international organizations in 2003.

While Turkish aid to Palestine dropped 23 times, from US$115,000 to
US$5,000 when compared to the previous year, support to Israel
increased 39 fold, from US$592 to US$19,500 in 2003.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) also received less aid
from Turkey. The figure was US$1.9 million in 2003 while it was US$8.4
million in 2002.

In addition, contributions to some countries were totally cut
off. Armenia, Algeria, Ghana, Guinea are among those.


Habib Guler
Ankara