Page 18 - TURKRptJun20

However, it added that 15 "key parts" were not yet being produced at the rate demanded by deadlines. That was an added headache given the already troublesome supply, quality and cost shortfalls of the $428bn F-35 project.
Also according to the report, some 10% of the manufacturers selected to replace Turkish suppliers “will not be producing at the required rate until next year”.
The GAO said that permitting Turkish manufacturers to continue to produce some parts for the programme would help it meet demands until new suppliers were fully on board.
The Trump administration has not ruled out allowing Ankara back into the F-35 programme if the Erdogan administration does not operationalise the S-400s. There is as yet no clear indication that that could happen, although Turkey has confirmed delays in bringing the systems into service.
The US could sanction Turkey if the S-400s are activated.
2.7​ ​OPINION: Post-COVID recessions bring risk of turbulent spring
2.8​ ​Reopening
The Great Recession 10 years ago, accompanied by severe youth unemployment and falling living standards, was the trigger for the Arab Spring, where demonstrations toppled long-established authoritarian governments in the Middle East and North Africa. This time around we are entering an even deeper recession and the governments that failed to rise to the crisis — through denial, dismissing the dangers or simply incompetence, resulting in unnecessary deaths and economic hardship — ​should​ fear their day of reckoning.
Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar is to reopen as of June 1, according to the chairman of the iconic tourist destination as ​cited​ by Anadolu Agency on May 8.
Most of Turkey’s 436 shopping centres reopened on May 11 after the government decided to relax measures introduced to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, but some retailers said they were considering closing their stores in malls because of high rents, business daily Dunya ​reported​.
According to Dunya, the combined annual revenues of Turkey’s shopping centres stood at Turkish lira (TRY) 160bn ($22.6bn) and 20% of this income derived from foreign tourists. The newspaper estimated that the malls’ revenues would decline by TRY30bn this year.
The German government has ​lifted​ a tourist travel warning applied to 31 European countries, but Turkey is not among them. Last year, more than 5mn German tourists visited Turkey, accounting for 11% of all international holidaymakers that arrived in the country. The numbers of German visitors stood at 3.6mn in 2017 and 4.5mn in 2018.
According to the latest data from the Turkish Tourism Ministry, Turkey welcomed only 435 German tourists in April. In the first four months of the year, 357,000 Germans vacationed in Turkey, marking a 56% y/y decline.
18​ TURKEY Country Report​ June 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com