Risks to the global economy cannot be understated. Every year we’re faced with numerous new risks that threaten to leave lasting damage to the world economy. However, we’ve recently witnessed an increase in the number and severity of non economic factors that affect the economy.
This demonstrates that it’s imperative to not limit ourselves to following macroeconomic indicators, which prove insufficient in this case and underline the need to assess all types of ongoing developments that affect economic security.
Problems that fall under this heading include the shortcomings of the established global economic system, the mistakes that are accepted as truths, the policies of developed economies that finance not only the real sector, but also financial markets, the inequalities and interest rates resulting from this distorted system and the Central Banks that think they solve any problem. However, what you need to discuss all these matters are multi volume books, not a columnist. Let's instead take a look at the effects of the coronavirus on real diseases.
The rapidly spreading coronavirus in China is hazardous to global economic security, as well as the health of people all over the world. Global tourism is at risk because of the virus too. Airlines, roads and maritime transport shares are on the decline. Fear of virus-related goods produced in China affects e-commerce sites extremely negatively. We are facing a period of extreme difficulty for many companies, from global coffee chains whose shares are traded in stock exchanges, to giant mobile phone manufacturers.
Forecasts for 2020 were not very good to begin with. All economic actors such as the IMF, the World Bank, investment banks and credit rating agencies began to downgrade their expectations regarding the global economy in 2020. However, this time the situation points looks even bleaker than the crisis caused by the SARS virus, which shows that 2020 will not go well economically, neither will the humanitarian aspect of the business. If the disease is tempered in the next 10-15 days and an environment of trust is not established, the threat of the new virus coupled with the burden of the current geopolitical risks on the economy seem to prove even more costly to the world.
The sanctity of Jerusalem for the Muslim world is not up for discussion. Some Israelis are now rebuking Israel’s barbaric policies in Palestinian territories and the region.
When President Erdoğan held a map showing how Israel gradually occupied Palestine at the UN and asked, “Where are the borders of Israel?” nobody could give an answer. And now we’re faced with another map with yet more expanded borders.
This so-called peace plan is unacceptable from both Islamic and humanitarian standpoints. Turkish foreign policy has been very clear in this regard. It’s impossible to measure Jerusalem or anything concerning Jerusalem with money. However, our sensibilities with regards to the sanctity of Jerusalem must not make us disregard the issue’s other real-life dimensions.
Because the U.S.’s whole plan, conducted through Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who got in touch with regimes in the region and promised them billions of dollars in order to guarantee no reaction from the Arab World, is not independent from the gas discovered in the Eastern Mediterranean and keeping Palestine away from the sea in the new map, in such a way that it won’t be able to claim any rights in the presumed gas reserves off its sea borders. Nor is it independent from Egypt’s coup, the Libya developments or the current events experienced in Lebanon. It is not even not unrelated to the Syrian issue.
Doubtless, we must consider its effects on the upcoming elections in both Israel and the U.S.
