ISTANBUL: President Tayyip Erdogan appointed a prominent member of Turkey’s ruling AK Party, Mehmet Mus, as trade minister on Wednesday and split the Family, Labour and Social Policies Ministry into two ministries.
In a presidential decree Ruhsar Pekcan was replaced as trade minister by Mus, who has been a lawmaker for Erdogan’s AK Party since 2011 and served as the party’s deputy chairman in charge of the economy.
The decree, published in the Official Gazette, gave no reason for the change, but it comes after opposition politicians accused Pekcan’s ministry of buying supplies from her family-owned company and called on her to resign.
The Trade Ministry confirmed that the purchase of sanitisers had been made, but said in a statement on Tuesday the choice was based on price alone and not due to “the name of the company making the sale.”
It said that the sale, worth some 500,000 lira ($62,000), had been carried out in line with relevant regulations.
Erdogan’s overnight changes come amid speculation over a wider cabinet reshuffle, after he changed the country’s top economic management in November, including the central bank governor.
The president established two new ministries by splitting the Family, Labour and Social Policies Ministry into two separate ministries, according to the decree.
He appointed Derya Yanik as Family and Social Policies Minister and Vedat Bilgin as the Labour and Social Security Minister, replacing Zehra Zumrut Selcuk.
Erdogan replaces Turkish trade minister, forms two new ministries
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Erdogan replaces Turkish trade minister, forms two new ministries
- In a presidential decree Ruhsar Pekcan was replaced as trade minister by Mus, who has been a lawmaker for Erdogan’s AK Party since 2011
Saudi Arabia, Japan trade rises 38% between 2016 and 2024, minister says
RIYADH: Trade between Saudi Arabia and Japan has increased by 38 percent between 2016 and 2024 to reach SR138 billion ($36 billion), the Kingdom’s investment minister revealed.
Speaking at the Saudi-Japanese Ministerial Investment Forum 2026, Khalid Al-Falih explained that this makes the Asian country the Kingdom’s third-largest trading partner, according to Asharq Bloomberg.
This falls in line with the fact that Saudi Arabia has been a very important country for Japan from the viewpoint of its energy security, having been a stable supplier of crude oil for many years.
It also aligns well with how Japan is fully committed to supporting Vision 2030 by sharing its knowledge and advanced technologies.
“This trade is dominated by the Kingdom's exports of energy products, specifically oil, gas, and their derivatives. We certainly look forward to the Saudi private sector increasing trade with Japan, particularly in high-tech Japanese products,” Al-Falih said.
He added: “As for investment, Japanese investment in the Kingdom is good and strong, but we look forward to raising the level of Japanese investments in the Kingdom. Today, the Kingdom offers promising opportunities for Japanese companies in several fields, including the traditional sector that links the two economies: energy.”
The minister went on to note that additional sectors that both countries can also collaborate in include green and blue hydrogen, investments in advanced industries, health, food security, innovation, entrepreneurship, among others.
During his speech, Al-Falih shed light on how the Kingdom’s pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka achieved remarkable success, with the exhibition receiving more than 3 million visitors, reflecting the Japanese public’s interest in Saudi Arabia.
“The pavilion also organized approximately 700 new business events, several each day, including 88 major investment events led by the Ministry of Investment. Today, as we prepare for the upcoming Expo 2030, we look forward to building upon Japan’s achievements,” he said.
The minister added: “During our visit to Japan, we agreed to establish a partnership to transfer the remarkable Japanese experience from Expo Osaka 2025 to Expo Riyadh 2030. I am certain that the Japanese pavilion at Expo Riyadh will rival the Saudi pavilion at Expo Osaka in terms of organization, innovation, and visitor turnout.”
Al-Falih also shed light on how Saudi-Japanese relations celebrated their 70th anniversary last year, and today marks the 71st year of these relations as well as how they have flourished over the decades, moving from one strategic level to an even higher one.
