- Türkiye already plays ‘very significant role’ in global value chains as nearshoring destination, Patrone says
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested €1.2 billion ($1.4 billion) in Türkiye in the first half of 2026 and expects the full-year figure to be close to last year’s record level, said EBRD Vice President Matteo Patrone.
Speaking to Anadolu, Patrone recalled that 2025 was a record year for the bank in Türkiye, with €2.7 billion invested across 54 operations.
“We started 2026 with a strong pipeline, and I’m pleased to see that in the first half of the year, we have already invested €1.2 billion, and the pipeline for the rest of the year is also very strong,” he said.
“So I think we’re going to be around the level of investment as last year,” he added.
Patrone said the EBRD is operating in a highly volatile environment, with priorities including continued support for Ukraine’s real economy and crisis-response measures linked to the Middle East.
The bank has surpassed €10 billion in investments in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war with Russia, he said.
“Given the crisis in the Middle East, we have approved a package for crisis response which focuses on the countries which are directly affected -- so Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and the West Bank -- but also those countries which are indirectly affected, and Türkiye is one of them together with Egypt and the Caucasus,” Patrone said.
He said the EBRD is present both in countries directly affected by the crisis and in countries that are not directly affected but are still exposed to its economic consequences.
“In Türkiye, we focus on providing liquidity lines for companies that are subject to the vulnerabilities related to the crisis, but also long-term financing for companies that have investment projects that cannot finance with alternative sources of finance,” he said.
Patrone said the current crisis is difficult to predict, particularly in terms of its effects on Türkiye’s real economy.
“Clearly the cost of energy has increased dramatically, and that has also had an impact on inflation, which is the major macroeconomic issue in the country,” he said, adding the crisis also affects value chains, including in agribusiness.
He said the bank remains in continuous talks with clients to assess how it can support them, particularly through liquidity and long-term financing where capital markets are not responsive.
Türkiye’s nearshoring role ‘a reality’
Patrone said Türkiye has strong potential as a nearshoring destination and secure transit corridor amid disruptions in global supply chains and regional geopolitical risks.
“I think not only Türkiye has a strong potential, but also is a reality,” he said.
“There are a number of industrial joint ventures in the country -- in the automotive sector, for instance, where we have been also very active -- but also in other industrial sectors, in white goods and durable goods, where Türkiye is already playing a very significant role in the global value chains exactly in the way you mentioned, as a nearshoring destination,” he added.
In this context, Patrone said the EBRD recently signed a transaction with Tersan Group aimed at increasing Türkiye’s logistics potential in a sustainable way.
COP31 ‘important occasion’ for decarbonization platform
Patrone also said the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), which is expected to be held in Antalya, Türkiye in November this year, was among the priority issues in the bank’s recent talks in Istanbul with private sector representatives and authorities.
“One of the priorities of the EBRD is the advancement and the progress on the TIDIP platform, the Turkish Industrial Decarbonization Platform, for hard-to-abate industries,” he said.
He said the platform aims to mobilize €5 billion in investments in energy efficiency and decarbonization projects in cooperation with international partners, the private sector and Turkish authorities.
“This is going to play an important role in COP31,” he said. “I think COP31 is a very important occasion for us to promote further that exercise.”
Türkiye in ‘more resilient and solid position’
Patrone said Türkiye is now in a stronger position than before, despite external pressures, including the latest crisis in the Middle East.
“In the current very volatile environment with a number of externalities, including the latest one of the crisis in the Middle East, I think Türkiye is in a much more resilient and solid position than it was some time ago, exactly because of the economic policies that have been put in place in terms of managing inflation,” he said.
He said these policies have helped make both the real economy and the macroeconomic situation more stable than they could have been under different circumstances.
“It is true that these externalities are putting pressure on inflation, and that means that unfortunately, the disinflationary trend will take a little bit longer than we all wanted,” he said.
“But I think that the basis of the disinflationary trend are very strong and the direction of travel is a very positive one in that sense,” he added.
