Hosted by George Howarth, Labour MP for Knowsley , another significant Westminster debate by CEFTUS took place with Mr Cenk Sidar as the guest, who is the founder and CEO of Sidar Global Advisors, a Washington DC-based global macro research and strategic advisory firm.
George Howarth MP opened the event by discussing the momentous events that have been occurring in Turkey and Europe at present including both the 15th July Coup attempt and the vote in Britain to leave the European Union. He also added that Turkey plays a crucial role in Europe by bridging the gap between the continent and the Muslim-majority world.
Mr Cenk Sidar began his speech discussing the notion of Turkey as a crossroads and its strategic importance as a result thereof. On the theme of Turkey as a crossroads however, he discussed it in a different way, as on a cliff edge, economically, democratically and in terms of its security.
Mr Sidar argued that Turkey’s present condition is not sustainable, and that the recent coup attempt displayed just how vulnerable Turkey is in all three of these areas. Economically for instance he noted that Turkey has been downgraded by two leading financial agencies. He added that in security terms, Turkey faces threats from the followers of the Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen who infiltrated Turkey’s security agencies and brought about the coup attempt, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) insurgency and Islamic State (IS).
Mr Sidar argued that as a result of the unsustainability of this situation a political change is necessary in the country. He added that an increasingly authoritarian streak had been adopted by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government since 2009 which threatened Turkish democracy.
More on Cenk Sidar:
Cenk Sidar is the founder and CEO of Sidar Global Advisors (SGA), a Washington, DC-based global macro research and strategic advisory firm that has been assisting top financial institutions, governments and multinational corporations investing in emerging/frontier markets since 2009. In November 2015 elections, Sidar was a MP Candidate from the main opposition, Republican People`s Party (CHP). Since 2012, Sidar has been advising the leader of CHP on foreign policy and economic issues and represented the party in various international platforms.
Sidar has written for, been interviewed by, and worked with the world’s leading newspapers and media organizations, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNBC, Bloomberg, Foreign Policy, CCTV and Al Jazeera. Sidar has also addressed audiences around the world, including at Carnegie, Bard, Cornell, Tufts, Johns Hopkins (SAIS) and CFR. Sidar holds an MA degree in international economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, a postgraduate degree in European studies from SAIS’s Bologna Center in Italy, and a BA degree in business administration and international relations from the Istanbul Bilgi University.
