Economic Relations with the Middle East Under the AKP-Trade, Business Community and Reintegration with Neighboring Zones

This article aims at analyzing Turkey's economic relations with the Middle East during the 2000s. It argues that intensification of Turkey's economic relations with the region is due to the changes in the Turkish economy and the coming to power of the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP). It looks at the relationship between the AKP and the business communities and foreign trade in general and elaborates on the trade figures and relations with individual countries. It looks at the economic cooperation projects and the vision presented by the Turkish policy-makers. The article also looks at the drawbacks and possible future developments in the economic relations.