One of the deadliest earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria in more than 80 years leaving thousands of people dead and several injured. Also, a slew of buildings has collapsed leading to destruction in the country.
The sad part is that the earthquake happened when people were in deep sleep; hence, as the buildings collapsed, many people were caught inside the rubble. As the rescue work is going on, with every passing hour, the death toll and the number of those who have been injured is rising.
Besides the severe impact caused to human lives and infrastructure; the strong earthquake has also left the country’s economy in shock. Let’s look at how it has impacted Turkey-India trade relations and Indian companies.
Impact On Indian Companies, Trade
According to a 2019 report by the Embassy of India in Ankara, 150 Indian companies had 5000 employees in Turkey. Out of these, certain big countries include Reliance Industries, Wipro, the Tata Group, Mahindra Group, and Dabur. In fact, Polyplex, which makes Indian packaging material, has a manufacturing plant in Corlu.
With quakes jolting the country, many employees of these Indian companies might have succumbed to death or been severely injured.
Coming to India-Turkey trade relations, as per the last available data, trade between the two nations rose to $9.12 billion in April-November 2022 as compared to $6.44 billion during the same period in the year 2021.
In 2022, imports rose rather than exports mainly because of crude oil. Now, looking at the current situation, it is believed that fuel prices will be on the rise in India, as Turkey has halted crude oil flow to the Ceyhan export terminal as a means of precaution.
A statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said that Indian companies were present in various sectors in Turkey like the automobile sector, pharma sector, and IT sector. Also, Turkish firms were of the opinion of starting companies in India looking at our infrastructure and engineering sectors.
Also Read: Horrifying, Apocalyptic Images From Turkey After More Than 1900 Killed In Massive Earthquake
Will Tourism Be Impacted?
Looking at the current situation, it can be drawn that for at least a month or two, tourism in Turkey will be on a decline and Turkish people, those who might have plans of travelling to India might postpone seeing the situation in their country.
President of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Rajiv Mehra said “Inbound travel won’t be impacted a lot as most travellers are from Istanbul where the impact was not large-scale.”
He also said that India to Turkey flights land in Istanbul, where destruction isn’t much. However, he added, “We may see a setback for at least a month or two. For instance, those who wanted to make a trip to India in 2023 summer may defer their plans and similarly, Indians could postpone theirs.”
Current Situation In Turkey
As of February 10, the death toll has reached over 19,000 and the number of deaths will continue to rise as the rescue operation is still on. As the situation is worsening, countries across the world have come ahead to provide aid to Turkey, and its neighbour Syria.
It has been four days since destructive earthquakes hit the nation and still after three days, rescue operations are on in the country. However, rescuers have no hope of finding people alive under the rubble now that it has been more than 72 hours.
Surprisingly, the rescuers rescued a baby girl from the rubble and of her entire family only she remained alive.
What the future holds for trade and the economy is yet to be seen as the situation becomes stable.
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: Hindustan Times, Times Now, CNBC TV
Find the blogger: Palak Dogra
This post is tagged under: Turkey, earthquake, turkey earthquake, syria earthquake, earthquake destruction, India-Turkey trade, trade relations, Turkey currency
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