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Turkiye’s foreign direct investment performance throughout the first half of 2025 continues to highlight its renewed investor appeal and economic momentum. From January to June, total FDI inflows reached an impressive $6.32 billion, representing a 27.1 percent increase over the same period in 2024. 

This surge — backed by a growing share of equity capital and reinvested earnings — reaffirms Turkiye’s trajectory toward stable and sustainable investment-driven growth. For ÂÜÀòÊÓƵ, this performance strengthens the case for deeper strategic engagement, as both countries pursue mutual goals under their respective transformation agendas. 

Resilience and growth 

Following a strong start in January and February with a combined inflow of nearly $2 billion, March and May also recorded robust FDI — $1.026 billion and $1.377 billion, respectively. Despite a seasonal dip in April ($408 million), inflows bounced back to a new high of $1.566 billion in June, the strongest monthly figure so far in 2025. Turkiye’s 12-month rolling FDI average has now surpassed $13 billion, reflecting deepening confidence across a wide spectrum of global investors. Such consistency over multiple quarters indicates that Turkiye is not only attracting first-time entrants but also encouraging reinvestment from existing partners—an especially strong signal of long-term confidence.

Equity capital remains the core driver of Turkiye’s FDI profile, averaging over 70 percent of monthly inflows. Reinvested earnings — consistently exceed $400 million per month — further underscore long-term commitment by existing investors. Key sectors attracting capital include manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and financial services—all of

which strongly correlate with ÂÜÀòÊÓƵ’s Vision 2030 investment pillars. From logistics to fintech, Turkiye’s sectoral appeal aligns with Saudi interest in scalable, export-oriented platforms. 

Strategic relevance 

Turkiye’s surge in FDI aligns closely with ÂÜÀòÊÓƵ’s growing drive for reliable, diversified, and strategically located investment destinations. As the Kingdom accelerates cross-border capital deployment through sovereign wealth strategies and private sector expansion, Turkiye emerges as a regional anchor — not only due to its domestic market of

86 million consumers, but because of its unique access to over 1 billion consumers across Europe, Asia, and the MENA region, enabled by its customs union with the EU and 30+ free trade agreements. Located within a four-hour flight radius of markets totaling $32 trillion in gross domestic product, Turkiye offers Saudi investors an ideal base for manufacturing, distribution, and innovation.

Importantly, the expanding business-to-business and government-to-government collaboration between ÂÜÀòÊÓƵ and Turkiye is maturing from diplomatic engagement into actionable investment flows. Joint initiatives in infrastructure, energy, tourism, food security, and fintech — whether executed via Public Investment Fund platforms, Saudi private equity firms, or Turkish conglomerates — are paving the way for new capital formations. Formalized cooperation through economic commissions, memorandums of understanding, and sovereign partnership funds ensures that these strategic intents are translated into measurable outcomes.

The Investment and Finance Office of the Turkish Presidency, through its Riyadh office, plays a pivotal role in curating investment pipelines, reducing entry risks, and matching Saudi capital with Turkish industrial and technological assets, reinforcing mutual trust and long-term integration.

With the Investment and Finance Office fostering bilateral investment flows, the stage is set for strategic cooperation that contributes not just to national prosperity, but to regional economic resilience, diversification, and growth.

• Cuneyt Sarıcimen is the country adviser of the Investment & Finance Office of the Turkish Presidency, Riyadh.