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Turkey
Turkey: a country at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and the Middle East

Turkey is a strategically important partner for Germany and the EU. Turkey forms a geographic and economic link between Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Turkey and KfW Development Bank can look back on 60 years of successful cooperation. Although Turkey has not been a partner country of German development cooperation since 2008, it is still a key country in the region. Since 2015, KfW has provided around EUR 1 billion to support refugee projects in Turkey. Overall, KfW implements commitments worth around EUR 300 million annually.
Since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis, Turkey has taken in the most refugees of any country in the world, with over 4 million people. Approximately 3.6 million of these refugees come from Syria and more than 400,000 from Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries of origin. On behalf of the German Federal Government and the EU, KfW is supporting projects in the first priority area, “refugees and migration”, that provide Syrian refugees in Turkey with future opportunities through education, vocational training and appropriate infrastructure, while at the same time helping local communities to cope with the immense population growth.
In the second priority area, “climate action and environmental protection”, KfW contributes to improving energy and resource efficiency and promotes the climate-friendly transformation of the energy sector. KfW cooperates closely with Turkish development banks in this area.
Since the Syrian crisis, around 4 million refugees have been living in Turkey, more than 3.6 million of them from Syria alone, including 1.2 million school-age children. Turkey is currently the largest refugee host country in the world. Germany and the EU are helping the country to overcome the challenges presented by the refugee crisis and to integrate the refugees. KfW has been implementing refugee support projects on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and under the EU-Turkey Agreement (FRIT Facility) since 2015. The aim is to create opportunities for Syrian refugees in Turkey through schooling and vocational training as well as by providing the respective infrastructure. At the same time, local communities are helped to cope with population growth - in some regions it has grown by as much as 100%.
As part of the BMZ’s Middle East/Turkey Cash-for-Work Programme, KfW Development Bank is helping to create job opportunities in the host communities and to improve living conditions. For example, refugees are supported in setting up a business through advanced training or start-up financing, or are placed in regular employment. Some of the measures are implemented by United Nations organisations such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO). KfW also supports UNICEF in improving the educational opportunities for refugee children through, for example, the participation of Syrian assistant teachers. In addition, KfW, in cooperation with the WHO, provides healthcare for refugees and trains Syrian medical staff in this project, who can then be integrated into the Turkish healthcare sector.
Investments in municipal and social infrastructure are being funded under projects to take care of and integrate refugees in Turkey, particularly in the education sector.
KfW is financing the construction of as many as 348 pre-schools and schools as well as the energy-efficient refurbishment of existing schools with grants from the EU and its member states via the FRIT Facility (Facility for Refugees in Turkey) and the MADAD Trust Fund (EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis), and in cooperation with the Turkish Ministry of Education (MoNE).
In cooperation with the MoNE, KfW is also supporting vocational education and training as an important element of integration into the labour market by equipping at least 50 vocational schools and providing scholarships for Syrian and Turkish young people.
It would be difficult to meet the challenges of the refugee crisis without the involvement of the private sector. A project implemented by KfW in cooperation with ILO is helping to integrate Syrian refugees and Turkish citizens into the primary labour market. Another goal of cooperation with Turkey is to strengthen the financial standing of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to create jobs in the host communities.
In addition, KfW cooperates with Turkish banks that specialise in promoting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). As a result of this growing and partnership-based cooperation, jobs are being created and retained, production capacities modernised and the living conditions of the poorer population improved, especially in rural areas. In the context of the refugee crisis, both the poverty-stricken Turkish population and the Syrian refugees benefit from job creation and employment.
Project information – Education for All in Times of Crisis (PDF, 146 KB, non-accessible)
Project information – Supporting Syrian volunteer teachers in Turkey (PDF, 158 KB, non-accessible)
Factsheet – German development cooperation in the education sector in Turkey (PDF, 85 KB, accessible)
KfW has been supporting climate action and the energy sector transformation in Turkey for more than 10 years. Large credit lines to Turkish development banks in particular contribute to expanding the use of renewable energy sources and improving energy efficiency, thereby promoting a more progressive climate policy in the country. On behalf of the BMZ, credit lines of more than EUR 500 million have been extended to the Turkish Environment and Development Bank (TSKB) in recent years for this purpose, and development loans of around EUR 130 million to the state-owned Development Bank of Turkey (TKYB). KfW also participates in the EU’s refugee programmes by promoting solar energy and energy efficiency in schools.
KfW contributes to disaster prevention and energy efficiency in the area of municipal promotion. Large parts of Turkey and in particular the metropolis of Istanbul with its 15 million inhabitants are extremely prone to earthquakes. As part of the Istanbul Seismic Risk Mitigation and Emergency Preparedness Project (ISMEP), public buildings are being renovated or newly constructed to make them earthquake-proof and energy efficient. KfW’s supports schools and hospitals in particular.
Finally, the construction of energy-efficient educational and sports facilities in cooperation with the Turkish Ministry of Education and Sports completes KfW’s portfolio in climate action and environmental protection.
Project information – Strong cooperation for climate action (PDF, 157 KB, non-accessible)
Further information
- Learn more about the impact of our work in Turkey in our transparency portal
- Read more about our completed projects in the evaluation reports on Turkey
- The BMZ's priorities in Turkey can be found directly on the Ministry's website
- On the website of the Federal Foreign Office you will find detailed information about Turkey
Local office
KfW Office Ankara
Director KfW Office: Dr Kirk Mildner
Pak Sokak No:1/75
06540 Çankaya Ankara
Turkey
Phone: +90 312 428 84 15
Fax: +90 312 428 84 16