Turkish Alumni And Turkish Diaspora In Terms Of Economic And Trade Relations

Today, there are over 260,000 international students studying at universities in Türkiye, 15,000 of whom are international students benefiting from the “Türkiye Scholarships” programme

The strong international image and interest brought about by Türkiye’s achievements at home and abroad in the last two decades has started to make its impact felt in Türkiye’s international student mobility. Being the executor of the “Türkiye Scholarships” programme established in 2010 and having become a global education brand of our country today, The Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) also has a significant share in this field, which is also known as “Education Diplomacy” activities. The academic, infrastructural, and technological globalisation of our higher education institutions has paved the way for international students from different countries around the world to prefer to study at our universities. Today, there are over 260 thousand international students studying at universities in Türkiye, 15 thousand of whom are international students benefiting from the “Türkiye Scholarships” programme.

International students coming from over 160 countries around the world and receiving higher education in Türkiye’s qualified universities do not only get an academic education opportunity during their time in our country but also increase their experience in their own business fields by participating in programmes such as internships in the fields they study. Following the completion of their education, they become a member of the “Türkiye Alumni” family of 150 thousand people who assume active roles in almost every field from politics to diplomacy, bureaucracy to academia, civil society to trade both in their own countries and in different countries around the world as “Türkiye Alumni” as well as making significant contributions to the economic and commercial relations between their countries and Türkiye. The study titled “Analysis of the Contribution of Türkiye Alumni to Trade between Türkiye and their Countries”, prepared by YTB and sampling 338 businesspeople who studied and graduated in Türkiye, reveals that Türkiye Alumni in various countries carry out 50 per cent of the foreign trade with Türkiye in the business lines in which they operate. 93 businesspeople who participated in this study conducted in 2021 stated that they imported $154 million from Türkiye in the last year. The per capita imports of the Türkiye Alumni participating in the study were calculated as USD 1.65 million.

YTB has recently been focusing on alumni activities in order for Türkiye Alumni to maintain communication and experience sharing among themselves and to strengthen and maintain their relations with Türkiye. One of the most significant of these efforts is the Türkiye Alumni Portal, where Türkiye Alumni can create their own CVs and apply for jobs at companies in Türkiye, and where over 120 thousand Türkiye Alumni are registered. Türkiye Alumni Portal enables Türkiye Alumni to be informed about news, announcements, job vacancies, and events that are of interest to them.

Likewise, 34 Türkiye Alumni Associations currently operating in 30 countries and 122 Türkiye Alumni Forums organised by YTB in 60 countries so far serve as a bridge between Türkiye and the home countries of the Türkiye Alumni, while the activities carried out within the alumni associations and alumni gatherings bring together the business world and Türkiye Alumni. Organised in Istanbul in January 2023 with the participation of 200 Türkiye Alumni from 60 countries, the “Türkiye Alumni Forum” was very useful in terms of bringing together Türkiye Alumni who are prominent in many fields and significant names of the Turkish business world.

Besides our international students, we observe that our citizens abroad, which is one of the main fields of activity of YTB, make significant contributions to the economy and trade as in many other fields. Currently, there is a Turkish diaspora of approximately 7 million people worldwide, 5 and a half million of whom are in Western Europe. Adding value to the countries and societies where they live in every sense, the Turkish diaspora also plays a vital role in raising the economic and commercial relations between the host countries and Türkyie to higher levels.

In Germany, where our trade volume exceeds USD 45 billion, more than 80 thousand Turkish enterprises maintain their commercial activities. Generating a turnover of approximately USD 53 billion, these enterprises employ over 500 thousand people. Similarly, direct investments from Türkiye to Austria, where 12 thousand Turkish enterprises operate and our trade volume reached USD 3.75 billion by 2022, totalled USD 680 million between 2005 and 2022. On the other hand, 23 thousand companies established by resident Turks provide employment for approximately 80 thousand people in the Netherlands and generate a turnover of EUR 8 billion through their investments reaching a total of EUR 6 billion.

It is obvious that Turkish entrepreneurs and enterprises abroad play a critical role in increasing Türkiye’s foreign trade volume. Maintaining a compact foreign economic and trade policy approach, in which diaspora policies and public and education diplomacy activities will constitute the triggering element of trade diplomacy, is thought to bring Türkiye forward regionally and globally in the medium and long term. In this sense, our institution YTB will maintain its efforts with the purpose of deepening the economic and commercial relations of our citizens abroad, our cognates-relatives communities and successful business people who studied and graduated in Türkiye.

President of YTB, Abdullah EREN