2.11 International Cooperation and Events

2.11.1 Relations with International Organizations

The CBRT contributed to periodic meetings organized by the G20, the IMF and the BIS, and established necessary coordination with internal and external stakeholders. In addition, within the framework of the routine IMF Article IV negotiations, the Bank participated in the meetings coordinated by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance between May 29 and June 11, 2024, and contributed to agenda items. During these meetings, the IMF delegation was briefed on the current state of the Turkish economy and financial sector as well as the CBRT’s monetary policy actions.

In 2024, the CBRT held meetings with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on March 27, September 20, and November 27 to exchange information on the global outlook, Türkiye’s economic situation and investment opportunities, in coordination with internal and external stakeholders.

The CBRT hosted the sixth meeting of the “OIC-COMCEC Central Banks Forum”, for which the CBRT carries out secretarial activities, on September 29-30, 2024 in Istanbul. The first session of the meeting focused on the global economic and financial outlook and economic developments at OIC member countries. The second session evolved around discussion of post-pandemic inflation dynamics as well as the challenges faced, and provided an exchange of views on prospective central bank policies. The third session of the meeting staged discussions on recent developments in artificial intelligence and potential uses of artificial intelligence in central banking. In this context, participants shared their country experiences on the use of artificial intelligence in central banks.

The CBRT and the World Bank Group joint conference on ‘Financial Inclusion in a Digital Age’ was held in Istanbul on October 2, 2024. The conference brought together relevant stakeholders to discuss the role of financial inclusion in promoting equitable growth, financial resilience and sustainability in Türkiye. Participants exchanged views on the potential of fintech and digitalization, gender and climate perspectives, and the challenges and opportunities faced by small and medium-sized enterprises.

On November 6, 2024, on the margins of the 11th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Bishkek, the Central Bank of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye and the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the Council of Central (National) Banks of the Member States of the OTS.

2.11.2 Participation in International Events

The CBRT participated in the Istanbul Fintech Week 2024, held on April 16-17 in Istanbul. The event staged speeches as well as exchange of information and experience on various topics such as the CBRT-developed payment systems along with their place and importance in the ecosystem, the work carried out by the CBRT on digital money, and the CBRT’s contribution and stance on developments in financial technologies. During the event, which was attended by sector practitioners and relevant parties in the field of fintech, prominent names of the sector from around the world shared their experience and opinions in the panels.

On May 6-8, 2024, the CBRT participated in the “BIS Innovation Summit 2024” event held in Switzerland. The event hosted senior executives from the financial and technology industries, and academics, as well as central banks, international organizations and private sector companies from around the world. Presentations centered around the opportunities and risks that technological innovation offers to the financial sector and to central banks.

On September 3-5, 2024, the CBRT took part in the “24 Fintech 2024” event held in Saudi Arabia. During the event participants from technology companies, fintech startups, investors, academia, international organizations and central banks learned about the challenges, regulations and solutions in the field of fintech.

On September 10-12, 2024, the CBRT participated in the “CBDC Conference 2024” held in Istanbul, and delivered a speech on the lessons learned, challenges faced and perspectives on the Digital Turkish Lira Project along with the opening evaluation. The conference attracted a number of central banks and companies from around the world working on digital currencies and staged presentations and panels on topics such as the purposes, requirements, design preferences and implications of a possible issuance of digital currencies.

On November 6-8, 2024, the Bank attended the “Singapore Fintech Festival 2024” held in Singapore. Bringing together private companies, government organizations, universities and international organizations from 134 countries and regions, the event featured presentations and panels on financial technologies. Public and private institutions shared their work on a number of topics such as technology, innovation, investment, initiatives, sustainability and regulation.

On November 15, 2024, the CBRT participated in the “12th Kazakhstan Finance Congress” held in Almaty. Private companies and public institutions were at the event, during which presentations were delivered on the general situation of the banking sector, future plans, the use of digital currency, blockchain and artificial intelligence and global trends in Kazakhstan.

On December 5, 2024, the CBRT attended online the General Assembly Meeting of the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence Group (CBCDG) held as a member. CBCDG General Assembly Meetings are held once a year, and in these meetings, the heads of delegations from member countries of the European Banknote Conference and representatives of other member countries not included in the European Banknote Conference are informed about the activities of the CBCDG by the management, necessary decisions are taken and the CBCDG budget is approved.

On November 8, 2024, the CBRT participated in the first phase of the project “Euro Counterfeit Technical Analysis Training and Enforcement of ALERT Network in South-East Europe” (PERICLES), which aims to exchange information and experience in the fight against euro counterfeiting with the Central Bank of Croatia. The event was held in Zagreb. Between April 16 and 18, 2024, the Bank participated as a member in the 54th Meeting of the “Technical Advisory Group of Central Banks of Countries Using Banknote Processing Systems (BPS)” held in Madrid. The CBRT participated online in the meetings of the sub-working groups of the Customer Focus Group-CFG attended by representatives of the banknote printing houses using the machines manufactured by the Koenig&Bauer Banknote Solutions company.

As part of the memorandum of understanding signed between the CBRT and the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, a technical cooperation meeting on “Banknote Quality and Adjustment of Conformity/Eligibility Thresholds in Banknote Processing Systems” was held with the Central Bank of Azerbaijan on September 10-12, 2024. The CBRT’s Issue Department officials attended the meeting, in which they informed Azerbaijani colleagues about the banknote destruction/grading criteria determined as per the eligibility criteria for the currency issued in Türkiye and applied in Banknote Processing Systems in CBRT branches, and a presentation was made about how to set thresholds based on these criteria. The program also included visits to two different facilities in Baku to observe banknote processing procedures, operational processes and cash operations, and to examine the methods and systems used in the processing and destruction of banknotes at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan. Besides, the CBRT made a presentation on its Decentralized Cash Management (MONY) system, which is one of the important factors for the quality of banknotes in circulation, and similar to the one in use in Azerbaijan. The CBRT shared knowledge on the role of private banks in the MONY system and the relevant supervision methods it follows.

Sector representatives, academics, members of non-governmental organizations and students participated in the ‘Innovation Summit’ organized by Schneider Electric in Türkiye on October 7-8, 2024. The event evaluated progress towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change, and offered a productive environment for exchange of ideas among sector representatives. The roles of the finance sector in sustainability were also discussed. The Issue Department participated in the summit themed around sustainability and digitalization.

The international ‘31st Economics Conference’, organized by the Turkish Economic Association between October 31 and November 2, 2024, featured sessions with empirical and theoretical presentations on topics related to economics, finance, labor and entrepreneurship. During the event, the Issue Department delivered presentations on ‘Regional Cash Use in Türkiye: Dynamics and Cluster Analyses of Provinces between 2018 and 2022’, and “The Impact of Pandemic Restrictions on Payment Habits”.

On November 21-22, 2024 the CBRT hosted a delegation from the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) in Istanbul, as a part of the bilateral cooperation between the CBRT and the NBS. During the study visit, the Issue Department made presentations on “Decentralized Cash Management System (MONY) Applications”, “Banknote Distribution and Storage, and Modernization Activities”, “Banknote Processing, Destruction and Quality Control” and “Measuring Cash Demand”. Visits were made to the MONY depot and the CBRT’s European Side Cash Center.

The CBRT participated in the “Working Group on Statistics of International Trade in Goods and Services (WPTGS)” on January 23-25, 2024, organized by the Word Trade Organization (WTO) in hybrid format. The Bank delivered a presentation on “Compilation Method of Health-Related Travel Item”.

The CBRT participated in the IMF Article IV meetings held on March 5, 2024 and May 31, 2024, and contributed to discussions with a presentation on “Balance of Payments Developments”.

The Bank participated online in the “IMF G20 Data Gaps Initiative” conference hosted by the Central Bank of Brazil on June 11 to 13, 2024.

As part of the BIS 2025 Innovation Strategy, the CBRT participated as a member in the online meetings of the “BIS Group of Experts” working group, established with the aim of reshaping the technical infrastructure of the BIS Data Bank and creating a new data distribution platform.

The CBRT participated in the annual evaluation meeting on tendency surveys conducted by the European Commission under the Joint Harmonized European Union Programme of Business and Consumer Surveys.

The Bank took part in the “Financial Accounts Workshop” organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the European Free Trade Association on October 1-4 , 2024, in Brussels, and gave presentations on “Uses of Financial Accounts for Analytical Purposes” and “Compilation of Non-Financial Institutions Sector Data”.

The CBRT participated in the “Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX) Regional Training Workshop” organized by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Istanbul on December 4-6, 2024.

In the context of the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), the CBRT gave training on “Monetary and Financial Statistics” to central banks of member states.

2.11.3 Relations with Central Banks

In 2024, the CBRT has steadily maintained effective and efficient relations with counterpart central banks, to follow global developments in central banking, to be at the center of the evolving banking and finance agenda, to contribute to the development of the CBRT’s institutional capacity, and to share its institutional competencies with other central banks. In brief, the CBRT has aimed to develop and diversify its bilateral relations.

In this regard, technical cooperation activities continued to be one of the most convenient means of enabling mutual exchange of knowledge and experience. Cooperation processes were planned around a program of mostly online meetings, taking into account their time and cost advantages, as well as the benefits of face-to-face communication and feedback. Accordingly, 41 videoconferences and 12 study visits were held with 29 different central banks in 2024. These technical cooperation activities covered a wide range of central banking topics such as Central Bank Digital Currency, payment systems, banknote counterfeiting, and financial statistics.

Meanwhile, the CBRT also adopted written information sharing tools to make use of in its projects and capacity building activities. Accordingly, the CBRT benefited from the knowledge and experience of stakeholder central banks through 4 written information requests, and responded 17 information requests of other stakeholders.

Cooperation at the technical level was underpinned by high-level bilateral meetings. During the meetings with representatives of diplomatic missions and central banks with which the Bank maintains bilateral relations, the international and regional agenda, economic and financial relations between the countries, potential opportunities for central bank partnership and the current assessment of the Turkish and global economies were discussed.

The CBRT’s dialogue with peers, thriving on a strong basis of cooperation, has been expanded to include new central banks. To this end, memorandums of understanding were signed with the Central Banks of Spain, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and Oman to improve exchange of information on central banking issues and to strengthen coordination networks between the CBRT and other central banks. Thus, the number of central banks with which the CBRT has engaged in formal cooperation reached 42.

In addition, bilateral currency swap agreements with the Bank of Korea and Qatar Central Bank were renewed in 2024 to facilitate trade in local currencies in international trade, encourage investments and support financial cooperation.

2.11.4 Participation in International Working Groups

The CBRT participated in an array of activities carried out by bodies established by the FSB, CPMI and other relevant international organizations and standard-setting authorities: the Future of Payments Working Group (FoP) established under the Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments, the Cross Border Payments Expansion Workstream, Cross Border Payments Messaging Workstream, Target Data Group for the Implementation Approach for the Cross-Border Payments Targets, Working Group on Cyber Resilience for Financial Market Infrastructures (WGCR), the Crypto-assets Working Group (CWG), Operational Resilience Group for Financial Market Infrastructures, along with its subgroups of Third Party Operational Resilience Group (TORG) and Cyber Security Operational Resilience Group (CORG), and FinTech Credit Working Group.

The CBRT contributed to the Financial Inclusion Task Force established under the G20 Data Gaps Initiative (DGI) that was launched with the participation of all relevant international organizations, particularly the IMF and the FSB.

As a member of the Central Bank Digital Currencies working group within the scope of the BIS Innovation Network, the CBRT participated in the online meetings held in February, March, April, May, June, October and November. The Bank introduced the Digital Turkish Lira Projects at one of the meetings.

The CBRT hosted the “G20 DGI-3 Recommendation 11 Second Workshop on Digital Money” in Istanbul on April 30 - May 2, 2024. Jointly organized by the CBRT and the IMF as part of the “G-20 Data Gaps Initiative (DGI)”, the workshop attracted participants from central banks, international organizations and private sector companies. The event staged presentations on experiences and approaches on regulation, data requirements and statistical data collection in the field of digital currency and cryptoassets.

As part of the work under the Third Phase of the G20 Data Gaps Initiative, the CBRT participated in and contributed to the activities and meetings of recommendation groups: 4. Climate Finance, 8: Income, Consumption, and Savings Distribution, 10. Fintech Credit, 12. Fintech-Enabled Financial Inclusion, 13. Access to Private and Administration Data, and 14. Data Sharing.

The CBRT virtually participated in and contributed to the BACH, FSA and ERICA working group meetings within the scope of the European Committee of Central Balance Sheet Offices (ECCBSO) as a member.

The CBRT participated in online meetings of the “Eurostat Task Force on Commercial Real Estate Indicators (TF CREI)” and “Eurostat Real Estate Price Statistics” (REPS) working groups established by the European Statistical System Committee (ESSC) within the scope of the recommendations of the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) to close data gaps in the field of real estate.

The CBRT participated online in the seminars and meetings of the International Network for Exchanging Experience on Statistical Handling of Granular Data (INEXDA) coordinated by the European Central Bank.

The CBRT participated in the “Working Group on Statistics of International Trade in Goods and Services (WPTGS)” meeting held on October 1-3 2024, in Paris, and delivered a presentation on the “Turkish Experience on Alternative Data Sources for Tourism Statistics and App¬lying to the Balance of Payment Statistics”.

The CBRT participated in “Conference on National Economic and Financial Accounts (CNEFA)” and the “Meeting of the Working Party on Financial Statistics (WPFS)”, held by the OECD on November 5-8, 2024, in Paris. The CBRT representative chaired the sessions on valuation of assets and the role of non-bank financial intermediation.

As a bureau member of the OECD, the CBRT participated in the “Travel Statistics Working Group” meeting held online on November 27, 2024.

The CBRT participated in the “Balance of Payments Working Group” meeting held by EUROSTAT in virtual format on December 2-3, 2024.

2.11.5 Organizations

The CBRT meets with economic and financial circles at international platforms to exchange views and represents the country at due levels. Below is a list of major events in which the CBRT participated.

• G20 Deputy Finance Ministers and Central Bank Deputy Governors Meetings on February 26-27, April 8, July 22-23, October 22, December 11-12, 2024,
• G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meetings on February 28-29, April 17-18, July 25-26, October 23-24, 2024,
• IMF Article IV Meetings between May 29 and June 11, 2024.
• EBRD Meetings on March 27, September 20, and November 27, 2024,
• IMF-World Bank Group Spring Meetings on April 15-20, 2024,
• Bimonthly BIS Meetings on January 10-12, March 10-11, May 12-13, June 29-30, September 8-9, and November 10-11, 2024,
• IMF-WBG Constituencies’ Meeting at Deputies Level on July 11-13, 2024,
• OIC-COMCEC Central Banks Forum Meeting on September 29-30, 2024,
• World Bank Group Conference on October 2, 2024,
• IMF-WB Annual Meetings on October 21-26, 2024,
• Ministerial Session of COMCEC on November 4-5, 2024,
• The 11th Summit of the Organization of Turkic States on November 5-6, 2024.

National and International Events

The CBRT held several meetings to enhance cooperation with other central banks and international organizations and discuss issues related to the Turkish economy.

The Protocol Division handled the logistics of the activities listed below:

• Briefing on Inflation Report 2024-I held in Ankara on February 8, 2024,
• Briefing on Inflation Report 2024-II held in Ankara on May 9, 2024,
• Briefing on Inflation Report 2024-III held in Ankara on August 8, 2024,
• Meeting with the Central Bank of the Netherlands on September 20, 2024, to commemorate 100th anniversary of cooperation between the two central banks,
• Briefing on Inflation Report 2024-IV held in Ankara on November 8, 2024.

The Communications Department organized various meetings to foster cooperation with other central banks and international organizations and to discuss issues concerning the Turkish economy.

• The CBRT hosted a workshop on “Addressing Climate Change Data Needs: The Global Debate and Central Banks’ Contribution” in Izmir on 6-7 May 2024, organized with the contributions of the Irving Fisher Committee on Central Bank Statistics (IFC), Banque de France and Deutsche Bundesbank. The workshop aimed to improve sustainable finance data, analyze physical and transition climate risk data as part of the G-20 DGI (Data Gaps Initiative), and invigorate the relations between central banks.
• The CBRT and the Ministry of Treasury and Finance hosted the “IMF-WB Constituency Meeting at Deputies Level” on July 11-13, 2024 in Istanbul.
• The CBRT held an event to mark the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship signed between the Republic of Türkiye and the Netherlands. Governor Karahan and the Dutch Central Bank President Klaas Knot delivered presentations on monetary policies and the economic outlook. On the occasion of the event, the CBRT hosted an exhibition on “100 Years of Friendship: Vissering’s Journey to Türkiye”.
• The CBRT hosted the sixth OIC-COMCEC Central Banks Forum in Istanbul on September, 29-30 2024 Central Bank Governors of the member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation attended the meetings.
• The CBRT held its traditional Interbank Chess Tournament for the 16th time on November 30, 2024, in Istanbul, to strengthen cooperation and communication among banks.
• The CBRT held the “Inter-Agency Banknote Anti-Counterfeiting Cooperation Meeting” on December 10, 2024, in Ankara to increase the effectiveness of coordination and cooperation among institutions in combating banknote counterfeiting.

In-House Events and Internal Communication Activities

The CBRT organized various events to reinforce communication:

• CBRT Employees and Retirees Turkish Art Music Choir” gave a concert in Ankara on May 30, 2024.
• The first “Branches Workshop” since 2018 was held in Izmir on October 4-6, 2024. This was followed by the “Workshop on Banknote Issue Transactions” between October 11 and 12, 2024.
• The “Lira Magazine”, the CBRT’s internal communication tool that was regularly published from 1983 to 2019, was relaunched in digital format in October, and sent to retirees by e-mail.
• The in-house local network site was expanded with new pages to enhance communication among employees.

Protocol Activities

The CBRT has organized various events to enhance communication regarding the visits of domestic and foreign delegations hosted by the Governor:

• Visit to Spain on January 31- February 1, 2024.
• G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting on February 28-29, 2024, in Sao Paolo,
• BIS Bimonthly Meeting on March 10-11, 2024, in Basel,
• G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, and IMF/WB Spring Meetings on April 15-19, 2024 in Washington, DC.,
• BIS Bimonthly Meeting on May 12-13 May, 2024, in Basel,
• Qatar Economic Forum on May 14-16, 2024,
• BIS Annual Conference on June 27-30, 2024, in Basel,
• G20 Deputy Finance Ministers and Central Bank Deputy Governors Meeting, and G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting on July 22-26, 2024, in Rio de Janeiro,
• Visit to Saudi Arabia on September 2-5, 2024,
• BIS Bimonthly Meeting on September 8-9, 2024, in Basel,
• UN General Assembly Investor Meeting, Türkiye-US Business Council, 15th Türkiye Investment Conference on September 21-26, 2024,
• IMF/WB Annual Meeting on October 21-26, 2024, in Washington, DC,
• BIS Bimonthly Meeting on November 9-11, 2024, in Basel,
• 25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo on November 14-16, 2024 in Pristina, and
• FSB Plenary and EMDEs Forum meetings on December 3-4, 2024, in Hong Kong.

2.11.6 European Union Harmonization Activities

In the scope of Türkiye’s EU accession process, the CBRT contributes to the work on harmonization with the EU acquis on issues that falls in its remit and regularly reports developments in chapters for which it is responsible, in coordination with the Directorate for EU Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Table 2.11.6.1 shows the current status of the chapters to which the CBRT has contributed in the accession negotiations.

Table 2.11.6.1: Current Status in Chapters that the CBRT Contributes to during the Negotiation Process

In 2024, as in previous years, the CBRT participated in the Economic and Financial Dialogue meetings. At the Economic and Financial Dialogue meetings, the Economic Reform Programs (ERPs) prepared by candidate and potential candidate countries are regularly evaluated in order to help candidate countries adapt to the economic governance processes within the EU during the EU accession process.

The first step in the Economic and Financial Dialogue process, the Economic and Financial Committee Alternates Meeting, was held physically in Brussels on April 22, 2024. The follow-up High-Level Officials Meeting was organized online on April 30, 2024. During the meetings, the ERPs prepared by candidate and potential candidate countries⁴ were evaluated, the Draft Joint Conclusions of the Economic and Financial Dialogue Meeting between the EU and the Western Balkans and Türkiye were discussed and the final text was agreed upon. The CBRT continued technical negotiations with the European Commission and the European Central Bank on issues falling within its mandate and contributed to the “Joint Final Declaration” adopted at the last meeting of this process on May 14, 2024.

In addition, the CBRT participated in the biannual Economic Forecast Meetings for Candidate Countries organized by the European Commission as part of the Economic and Financial Dialogue process and at the meeting, projections regarding Türkiye’s economic and financial outlook were discussed. Accordingly, the spring meeting was held on April 16, 2024 and the autumn meeting was held on October 10, 2024 in Brussels.

Lastly, this year’s meeting of the Subcommittee No. 4 on Economic and Monetary Issues, Movement of Capital and Statistics, which is one of the subcommittees established as per the decision taken at the Türkiye-EU Association Council to evaluate the alignment of Turkish legislation with the EU acquis on “Free Movement of Capital”, “Financial Services”, “Economic and Monetary Policy” and “Statistics” chapters, was held in hybrid meeting format on October 22, 2024.

⁴ Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Georgia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine, Türkiye