Turkiye announced a $14 billion regional development plan on Sunday that aims to reduce the economic gap between its mainly Kurdish south-east region and the rest of the country, Reuters has reported. The announcement comes amid increased hopes for an end to a decades-long insurgency waged by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in south-east Turkiye as well as the advent of a new leadership in neighbouring Syria with cordial ties to Ankara. The eastern and south-eastern provinces of Turkiye have long lagged behind other regions of the country in most economic indicators, including gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, partly as a result of the insurgency. Turkish Industry Minister Fatih Kacir told reporters in the south-eastern city of Sanliurfa […]
![A Turkish flag in Ankara, Turkiye on March 28, 2023. [Metin Aktaş/Anadolu Agency]](http://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/resizedd-1-5-4.jpg)