2.9 International Cooperation and Events

2.9.1 Relations with International Organizations

The 37th meeting of the Central Bank Governors’ Club of Central Asia, Black Sea Region and Balkan Countries, which was founded on the initiative of the CBRT, was hosted by the CBRT in Antalya on 2‑4 April 2017. The main themes of the meeting were monetary policy, financial stability, and the enhancement of economic resilience.

In order to increase cooperation among the Governors’ Club member countries and to help with the preparations of the Governors’ Club meetings, a “Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Working Group” was established in November 2017 on the initiative of the CBRT. Russia and Turkey assumed the role of co‑chair of this Group.

Within the scope of the activities of the Organization of lslamic Cooperation (OIC), which is the second largest international organization after the United Nations, the Meeting of the Central Banks and Monetary Authorities of OIC Member Countries was held in September 2017. During the meeting, participants discussed global and financial developments, a stable and inclusive financial system, and financial stability issues. In the declaration published at the end of the meeting, it was stated that the members would meet regularly every year and the CBRT would undertake the duties of secretariat. It was also decided to create two working groups focusing respectively on the issues of “OIC Economic Outlook” and “Financial lnclusion”. Established on the initiative of the CBRT, the “OIC Economic Outlook” working group is being co‑chaired by Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey while the “Financial lnclusion” working group is being co‑chaired by Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and Uganda.

One microsite(2) was also set up for this meeting.

2.9.2 Relations with Central Banks

2017 was marked by important developments from the standpoint of the CBRT’s bilateral relations. Significant progress was also made in the direction of expanding the scope of such relationships through multilateral cooperation.

In an effort to expand its international cooperation, the CBRT first undertook a review of its Bilateral and Multilateral

Cooperation Strategy in 2017 as a result of which a three‑pillared strategic approach was formulated: 1) Develop existing collaborations, 2) Initiate collaborations with central banks with which memorandums of understanding are currently being negotiated, and 3) Plan multilateral collaborations.

As a consequence of the efforts made last year under this new strategy, the number of memorandums of understanding which the Bank signed increased to 26 from 16 such agreements signed between 2010 and 2016. This rise has significantly expanded the scope of the CBRT’s international influence (Table 2.9.2.1).

The aim of these new memorandums of understanding with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, and Bulgaria in April, with Ukraine in June, with Tunisia, Serbia, and Iran in September, and with Albania and Qatar in November, was to strengthen the CBRT’s network of international ties across a broad region that embraces the Balkans, Black Sea littoral countries, Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

Table 2.9.2.1: New CBRT Memorandums of Understanding Signed in 2017

Bosnia-Herzegovina

Serbia

Bulgaria

Tunisia

Georgia

Iran

Ukraine

Albania

Macedonia

Qatar

(2) http://www.tcmb.gov.tr/wps/wcm/connect/tcmb+en/tcmb+en/main+page+site+area/conferences/oic

Recognizing the importance of engaging in multilateral collaborations in addition to bilateral cooperation, the CBRT organized a multilateral seminar for the first time in 2017 in order to promote the sharing of knowledge and experience among the central banks of Eastern European, the Balkans, and Black Sea littoral countries which had already signed memorandums of understanding with the CBRT and which might be potential partners of the Bank. Titled “Central Bank Communication: How to Keep Up with the Latest Trends”, the multilateral seminar was held in Istanbul and was attended by 45 high‑level representatives of the central banks of 12 countries. The CBRT plans to make such seminars traditional and to hold them every year for different country groups in order to discuss different issues.

Continuing to diversify its activities with the central banks with which it already cooperates in 2017, the CBRT intensified its current collaboration with the European Central Bank (ECB) and with the Italian and Indonesian Central Banks. Personnel were mutually seconded with the aim of sharing experience while working visits and workshops were conducted and joint seminars and conferences were organized.

The CBRT engaged in high-level policy dialogues with the administrations of a large number of central banks in 2017. Governor-level policy dialogue meetings were conducted with the central banks of Italy, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Libya, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Iran, and Albania in 2017. During the IMF-World Bank annual meetings that took place in Washington DC on 13-15 October 2017, policy dialogue meetings at the deputy governor-level took place with the ECB and the Russian Central Bank.

Bilateral working committees serve as another mechanism, by means of which the CBRT is able to engage in dialogues with other central banks. The seventh meeting of the Russian‑Turkish Working Group on Financial and Banking Cooperation took place in 2017, during which the parties signed an annex protocol to the technical cooperation agreement that was signed in 1997. The aim of this new protocol is to support the two banks’ cooperation processes. In 2017 a working committee was set up in order to develop bilateral relations with Iran’s central bank. This committee met three times last year. During these meetings, participants exchanged views and information on such issues as trade in local currencies, a swap agreement mechanism between the respective central banks, interest‑free finance in Turkey, and reserves management. Last year a decision to set up a working committee was also made with the Ukrainian central bank. The intention is to hold this new Committee’s first meeting in the early months of 2018.

Moreover, working visits with the central banks of Azerbaijan, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine were also organized in order to engage in bilateral discussions and to exchange information. A training program was conducted for Iraq’s central bank staff and a meeting to discuss interest-free finance was held with representatives of Pakistan’s central bank.

In order to enhance the effectiveness of the cooperation between the CBRT and other central banks, allow the CBRT departments to benefit more from such cooperation and ensure continuity of the cooperation process, The Committee of Cooperation with Central Banks was established within the Bank in April 2017. The committee is structured so as to allow relations between the CBRT and other central banks to be conducted more systematically and according to a regular schedule. Its first meeting took place in April with participation of representatives from the CBRT units, during which participants were informed about and exchanged views on the committee’s objectives, collaboration processes, and members’ roles. During the committee’s second meeting in July, the results of activities that had been planned for 2017 were assessed, information was provided about EU projects, and views were exchanged on plans for 2018. At the third meeting, which took place in November, information was provided about the committee’s working principles and about the most recent developments in bilateral relations since the last meeting. The agenda of the meeting also included the selection of a theme for the 2018 bilateral and multilateral cooperation catalogue and an exchange of views concerning EU project requests.

2.9.3 Participation in International Working Groups

In 2017 the CBRT attended the annual meetings of the Banknote Security Committee, the Manufacturing Process Committee, and the Banknote Materials Committee, all three of which are technical sub-units of the European Banknote Conference. CBRT representatives also took part in the activities of the Policy Committee Advisor Group, which is responsible for assessing the effectiveness of the conference’s management and operations.

As a central bank that uses banknote processing systems (BPS) supplied by Germany-based Giesecke & Devrient (G&D), the CBRT is a member of the BPS International Users Group. In 2017 the Bank sent representatives to take part in that group’s annual conference of central banks and banknote printers which G&D conducts for those who use its banknote processing systems. The aims of this conference are to enable participants to exchange views and experience about the use of G&D systems and to enable updating of systems in line with technological innovations. In 2017, CBRT representatives also attended the semiannual meetings of the BPS Technical Advisory Group, which is a technical sub-unit of the international users group.

The CBRT is also a member of the KBA NotaSys Customer Focus Group, which was set up by KBA‑NotaSys, a Switzerland‑based firm that manufactures and supplies majority of the machines used to print banknotes around the world today, to facilitate technical cooperation and encourage the exchange of knowledge and experience among those who use KBA NotaSys machinery, systems, and equipment in their banknote printing processes. CBRT representatives attended the KBA NotaSys Customer Focus Group’s annual meeting in 2017 and also took part in the activities of the Technical Work Group, a sub‑unit of the customer focus group.

As Turkey’s representative, the CBRT takes part in the activities and meetings of working groups established by the CPMI, which is hosted by BIS. Some of the working groups of which the CBRT is a participant published their final reports in 2017 while others continued to work on fulfilling their mission briefs. Accordingly;

2.9.4 International Events

In its ongoing efforts to represent Turkey on international economic platforms and to foster mutual relations and cooperation with other countries’ central banks and with international agencies and organizations, the CBRT conducts meetings, seminars, panels, workshops, and conferences for the discussion of current issues on the world’s and Turkey’s economic agendas.

The main events which the CBRT hosted and which were attended by the world’s leading academicians and central bankers last year are highlighted below.

 

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