All Countries and All Sectors

While a string of healthy-looking economic results has left a sense of relief in Ankara in recent days, the launch of a new World Bank report on the country's progress has highlighted the need for continued restraint. If Turkey is to achieve its stability and growth targets, the Bank says, it must do more to restore investor confidence. It's a point the government too seems anxious to make, with the troubled privatisation programme likely to be an important proving ground.

With its long-awaited accession to NATO slated for the spring of 2004, Bulgaria is now running a major military upgrade programme. Due to spend around USD1bn over the next five years on its armed forces, Sofia is currently playing host to many world-renowned defence contractors. Meanwhile, critics have been asking just how fair the defence procurement process has been, despite the progress made in modernising the country's Warsaw Pact-era military.

While praising progress so far, the latest report from a top European agency also warns that much still remains to be done with Bulgaria's economy. Meanwhile, the authors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) report also expressed their frustration at the government's lack of popularity -- despite its success with reforms.

With a recent reshuffle of its board of directors, the internationally renowned Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera may be facing some profound changes in the months ahead -- with the station's troubles also shedding light on some of the major issues facing the region's media.

This year sees Bulgaria and the US celebrate a century of diplomatic relations, with a once-frosty distance now transformed into a generally warm friendliness. Of late, Bulgaria has also been strengthening its ties with the US, particularly thanks to its role as a staunch supporter of the US-led 'War on Terrorism'. Now, this may pay off economically, with contracts for Bulgarian firms in Iraq promised and the possibility of US bases setting up in Bulgaria.

The following interview with Ali Babacan, State Minister in Charge of the Economy, is taken from the Oxford Business Group's latest publication, Emerging Turkey 2004. For more information on how to order a copy of the most comprehensive review of the Turkish economy to date, please write to us at mail@oxfordbusinessgroup.com, or click on the link to Printed Publications on the right-hand side of the page.