The fast-spreading coronavirus has dampened global
economic prospects for 2020, a year that many had hoped would see a
revival in the fragile world economy. For Turkey, the threat comes atop
existing economic woes, coupled with its deepening military involvement in the war in neighboring Syria. Though the deadly virus is not yet officially present in Turkey, it has badly affected another neighbor, Iran, forcing the closure of border crossings in a blow to bilateral trade and tourism.
Of the nearly 89,000 cases reported globally as of March 2, 90% are in China, the epicenter of the outbreak, where the death toll is nearing 3,000. The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned March 2 that the virus was now spreading faster outside China, singling out South Korea, Japan, Iran and Italy as “our greatest concern.” In Iran, Turkey’s eastern neighbor, the official death toll
stood at 66 as of March 2, with more than 1,500 people infected since
Tehran announced the first deaths Feb. 19. According to WHO, infection
cases have been exported from Iran to at least 11 countries.
The outbreak threatens to further cripple
the sanction-hit Iranian economy, which shrank some 9.5% last year,
atop a nearly 5% contraction in 2018, according to figures by the International Monetary Fund
(IMF). With its oil and gas revenues plunging, Iran’s current account
deficit hit $12 billion — or 3.4% of its gross domestic product (GDP)
— in 2019, a far cry from the $15 billion surplus in 2017. The country’s
unemployment rate has shot up to 17% and its annual consumer inflation
to about 30%, while the budget deficit has reached more than 5% of the
GDP.
With the coronavirus closing in on Turkey, the Turkish health minister warned
March 2 there might already be infected individuals in the country,
although no case has been officially confirmed thus far. According to
the head of the Turkish Medical Association, “Turkey could weather the
disease without any human loss if the necessary measures are enforced.”
Read more at: Looming coronavirus threat adds to Turkey’s economic woes
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