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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) National Budget 2017 sees a progressively lower budget deficit with the aim of achieving break even by 2020. The government has considered taxes as one of the sources for additional revenue with the introduction of certain new/revised levies on expatriates and, most notably, the Value Added Tax (VAT). Whilst these reforms will result in additional revenue for the government, it may increase the cost of doing business in KSA.

Expatriate Levy

Currently, companies pay a levy of SAR 200 per month per expatriate employee, but only for expatriate employees that exceed the number of Saudi employees. From next year, this fee will be increased gradually (from January every year) until 2020. Furthermore, for expatriate employees not exceeding the number Saudi employees, the fee will no longer be waived but will be levied at a discounted rate.

In addition, a new fee on dependents of expatriate employees will be levied. This fee will be applicable from July 2017. The fee will be SAR 100 per dependent per month and will increase gradually every year until 2020.

The potential plans to levy income tax and or remittance tax on expatriate employees has been placed on hold for now.

Value Added Tax (VAT)

The Saudi National Budget 2017 revealed that KSA signed the GCC (member states comprising Bahrain, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and UAE) unified framework agreement for VAT in December 2016. The Saudi National Budget 2017 also confirmed the implementation of VAT in KSA from January 2018.

The current indication is that most goods and services will be subject to VAT at 5%. Certain goods and services may be either zero rated or exempt from VAT. More details on applicability of VAT will be available once the GCC framework and KSA VAT law is published.

Excise Tax on harmful goods

Excise tax will be implemented on certain products that are viewed to be harmful to individual’s health.

Excise Tax of 50% on soft drinks (at this stage, there is no indication on whether it will apply to all or specific soft drinks), and 100% on tobacco products and energy drinks will be imposed from April 2017. This will result in these specific products becoming costlier and potentially achieving the objective of reduced consumption.

History

India and Cyprus had signed an agreement in June 1994 and were bound to exchange information to avoid tax evasions.  It is considered to be a tax haven before 2015 and stands seventh on the list of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) destinations in India. India received foreign investments of approximately INR 42,680 from Cyprus from April 2000 to March 2016.

On 1st November, 2013 India has marked Cyprus as “Non- Cooperative Jurisdiction/ Notified Jurisdiction” under Section 94A of Income Tax Act, 1961 of India, upon its failure to disclose crucial information about money being transferred by Indian citizens and are suspects of tax evasions. Consequently, the transactions for transferring the funds from and to Cyprus reduced to avoid payment of higher withholding taxes and disclosure requirement. The authorities at Cyprus recognized the need to take effective steps in this regard and initiated change in their policies.

In October, 2015 the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) declared that Cyprus had been found to be complaint with the requirements and standards laid down by Global Forum on Transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. Cyprus got rating equals to United States, United Kingdom and Germany. With this, Cyprus lost its status of a tax haven.

The new Treaty

Mid 2016 has been a very significant period for tax treaties of India with major tax havens. Marking a historic change, India – Mauritius tax treaty have been re-negotiated and it began a new chapter of foreign investments in India.

On 29th June, 2016 the Ministry of Finance of Cyprus issued a statement that they have completed the negotiations with India and reached at agreements on all pending issues between India and Cyprus after an official level meeting held on 28th and 29th June at New Delhi. On 1st July, 2016 the Indian Ministry of Finance issued a press release confirming the same and mentioning to provide a “Grandfathering clause” for investments made prior to 1st April, 2017 for residence based taxation of capital gains. These agreements also paved way for removal of Cyprus from notified jurisdictions with retrospective effect.

These provisional agreements later been put before the cabinet of Indian Government headed by Prime Minister of India and approved by the Cabinet in August, 2016. The approved agreements which will now replace the 1994 treaty were signed on 18th November, 2016 at Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. Mr. Ravi Bangar, high Commissioner of India to Cyprus and Mr. Harris Georgiades, the Minister of Finance of Cyprus has signed the agreement on behalf of India and Cyprus respectively. It is expected to come into force with effect from coming financial year i.e. 1st April, 2017.

The Major Provisions

The new agreements provide for source based taxation of capital gains arising from transfer of shares rather than residence based taxation as provided under previous treaty. Accordingly, all the capital gains from transfer of shares can now be taxed in country of transaction and India shall benefit by taxing the transactions undertaken in the country by Cyprus residents.

It is important to note here that as provided by the “Grandfathering clause” in the agreement, investments made prior to 1st April, 2017 can be taxed in the country where the taxpayer is resident.

The new agreement broadens the scope of permanent establishment and rate of withholding tax on royalties is reduced from 15% to 10% to bring it in line with the tax rate under Indian Laws.

New agreement also defines the provisions related to the exchange of information between the countries as per international standards and both the countries assisting each other for collection of taxes. This new treaty also paves the way for removing Cyprus from “Notified Jurisdiction” in India with retrospective effect from November, 2013 after the treaty comes into force.

Conclusion

This is a welcome move for investor and industry in both the countries. Both the countries have enjoyed good trade relations in past decades and this step shall definitely foster the growth. Cyprus shall once again become one of the largest sources of FDI in India and other parts of the world. The government’s keenness to improve the level of transparency in investments to and from Cyprus have already started delivering results and Cyprus has become a popular destination for European investors under Alternate Investment Fund Manager Directive. If Cyprus manages to keep up with robust compliance and transparency, it shall soon be most preferred destination for investment vehicles across the world.

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  • Saint Kitts and Nevis – United Arab Emirates: DTA Signed
  • Hong Kong – Romania:  DTA Signed
  • Cyprus – India: DTA Signed
  • Germany – Australia: DTA entered into force
  • Canada – Madagascar: DTA Signed
  • Russia – Singapore: DTA entered into force

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Turkey have signed eight agreements in Istanbul in the presence of Commerce and Investment Minister Majid Al-Qassabi and Turkish Economy Minister NihadZabka to boost bilateral trade.

The signing of agreements took place during the Saudi-Turkish Joint Business Council meeting in Istanbul.

Speaking after the signing of the agreements, Zabka said that Turkey has set up an investment-friendly climate for foreigners to do businesses with a sense of security, which would protect their interests in the country. “We have removed all obstacles and facilitated smooth investment procedures in Turkey,” Zabka noted, adding that Saudi and Turkish businessmen can harness these incentives for mutual interests.

Responding to Zabka’s speech, Al-Qassabi said that such incentives are important for the two countries to forge ahead.

Mazen Rajab, head of the Saudi side of the business council, said that Saudi investments in Turkey have reached $10 billion which is a healthy growth of bilateral trade.

Saudi companies mainly invest in the industrial sector in Turkey in collaboration with the Turkish private and public sectors. They can also increase their investments in agricultural, finance, tourism and communications sectors.

Turkey, on the other hand, has had a sizable number of highly qualified and technologically superior contractors who are present today in every part of the globe, including the Arabian Gulf states.

In the field of tourism, Turkey has been doing very well. A total of 39 million tourists visited Turkey in 2013, raising revenue from tourism to reach $32 billion.

“Economic ties between the two countries are strongly backed by identical approaches on the whole range of bilateral and regional issues,” YunusDemirer, the Turkish ambassador in Riyadh, said in an earlier interview.

Trade between Turkey and Saudi Arabia has been growing consistently. Around 80 percent of Turkey’s exports to the Kingdom are industrial products, whereas agricultural products account for 10 percent of exports.

On the other hand, the bulk of Turkey’s imports from Saudi Arabia come from crude oil and petrochemical products.

A close observation of the imports shows that the share of crude oil in total imports declined from 79 percent to below 40 percent between 2000 and 2014, while the share of petrochemicals increased drastically (the value of imports of polypropylene rose to $1 billion) in the same period. On the other hand, the decrease in the last two years was mainly related to the decline in crude oil prices.

Speaking about the upswing in trade and investment, Ambassador Demirer said that there is a genuine opportunity to establish a long-term partnership between the Turkish and Saudi business communities. Saudi visitors feel at ease in Turkey, says the envoy.

“As neighbors and two of the world’s oldest civilizations, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have shared a long history of religious, cultural, scientific and economic linkages,” said the envoy, adding that Turkish imports from Saudi Arabia have been traditionally dominated by fossil fuels.

For more details reach us at [email protected]

In brief

The Customs Authorities of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries have recently finalized the Unified GCC Customs Tariff 2017, which will enter into force on 1 January 2017. The amendments to the Unified GCC Customs Tariff may have a major impact on your company.

In detail

Every five years, the HS is updated in order to reflect the major technical and global developments, and changes in trade patterns. The HS 2012 amendments, for example, included noticeable changes on biodiesel and diapers. The majority of amendments, however, usually relate to the agricultural and food sector – which is also the case for the HS 2017. The new amendments do also include a few notable changes.

HS and Unified GCC

Customs Tariff The HS is a multipurpose international product nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO). It comprises about 5,000 commodity groups; each identified by a six digit code.

The HS is used by more than 200 countries and economies as a basis for their Customs tariffs and for the collection of international trade statistics. Over 98% of the merchandise in international trade is classified in terms of the HS.

As members of the WCO, the GCC countries have agreed to use a common system based on the HS: the Unified GCC Customs Tariff, which sets eight digit codes to classify goods for customs purposes (the first six digits correspond to the HS).

HS 2017 notable changes

The most striking amendments in HS 2017 are to be found in the forestry, chemistry, pharmaceutical and technology sector. In the forestry sector (chapter 44) the HS codes have been amended enabling a recommended to provide clear instructions to their customs agents to comply with the new Customs Tariff.

The use of incorrect HS codes may lead businesses to declare products for entry into the GCC without the applicable import permits or certificate of conformity; furthermore it may lead to the assessment of the wrong customs duty rates, underpaying or overpaying customs duties to the GCC Customs Authorities.

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New information on Country-by-Country reporting should give more certainty to tax administrations and multinationals on how to implement it.

On 5 December 2016, the OECD released further guidance on Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting and country-specific information on implementation of the guidance. CbC reporting is linked to action point 13 in the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative.

Background on BEPS

Base erosion and profit shifting are tax avoidance strategies mostly used to exploit loopholes within the tax/legal environment by shifting profits from one specific country to a country with low or no tax, where, in most cases, the company has no or little economic activity.

Currently over 100 countries and jurisdictions have, or will, implement regulations to address base erosion and profit shifting as part of the OECD’s initiative to counter fight these practises. Both the OECD and the participating countries issued a report in 2015 containing the so called 15 action points to be taken into consideration and implementation by countries when dealing with BEPS.

The main focus of these action points is to identify and neutralise gaps and mismatches in tax rules across the countries, and facilitate increased exchange of tax information between jurisdictions to improve tax compliance.

New rules and regulations along the way

The implementation of BEPS-related laws and regulations is a rolling process, as each country is implementing BEPS action points with different views, interpretations and timelines. The OECD is continuously providing additional guidance on how these action points should be interpreted and suggesting best ways for them to be implemented.

As part of such, on 5 December 2016 the OECD released further guidance on CbC reporting and country-specific information on implementation of the guidance, specifically:

  • Key details of jurisdictions’ legal framework for CbC reporting
  • Additional interpretive guidance on the CbC reporting standard.

In short, the new information on country-specific reporting should give more certainty to tax administrations and multinationals on how to implement CbC reporting. It affects the timeline when CbC reporting has to be done, whether surrogate filing and voluntary filing is available for specific countries and if local CbC filing is required. Furthermore it contains information on the implementation of international exchange of CbC reports between country tax administrations.

The guidance tackles the case where notification to the country tax administration involves identifying the reporting entity within the multinationals’ structure, and how, once identified that such a notification is required it’s up to the jurisdictions to set a due date for acting upon it, thus providing some flexibility. This will be relevant while jurisdictions transit through the finalisation of their local implementation of CbC reporting and multinationals adapt to the new norms.

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Introduction

United Arab Emirates is always known for fast pace development and adapting the things to promote investor and form an attractive business environment. The government of Abu Dhabi has announced establishment of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) in 2013 to partner in regional and international growth of UAE. ADGM will comprise of three authorities namely, ADGM Courts, Registration Authority and Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA). ADGM is set up in Maryah Island in the Capital of UAE.

ADMG Courts shall be supporting ADMG in adjudicating civil and common law matters. The ADGM Courts Regulations and Rules were enacted by ADGM’s Board of Directors and the Chief Justice on 17th December, 2015. They have recently started their operations and do not have jurisdiction in Criminal Courts. UAE have become the first nation in region to adopt this system.

Structure

ADGM Courts have a court at first instance and after that a court of appeal. The courts contain three divisions, namely Civil, Small Claims and employment. The judges at these courts are highly experienced and are drawn from all parts of the world. They are mandatorily required to have strong standards of judicial independence and acts on an impartial basis.

Jurisdiction

These courts are formed to facilitate the judicial proceedings for the companies operating under ADGM. The courts at first instance shall have jurisdiction over all the commercial cases and disputes related to ADMG or any of its authority and the companies operating under ADMG. These courts shall also have jurisdiction over any disputes arising out of transaction or contact formed whole or in part at ADMG. An appeal against the decision of ADGM authorities can also be filed here. These courts have three divisions, viz. civil division, small claims division and employment division.

Civil division shall have jurisdiction over cases where the value of claims are more than USD 100,000 and are not related to employment or family matters.

Small Claims division shall have jurisdiction over cases where the value of claims are less than USD 100,000 and are not related to family matters.

Employment division shall have jurisdiction over disputes arising out of employment contracts and enforcing the provisions related to employment regulations

Audience

Any person may appear as audience before small division courts or courts at first instance. However, he is required to follow the code of conduct for appearance in the court. Unlike, in other courts in the region ADGM courts have not prescribed any legal qualification or experience for audience.

The Future

Online facility is expected to be operational soon and it will allow parties to file e-complaints, document and have e-trials. This is surely an initiative for future and will attract the investor to come and invest as he will have the facility of address disputes as they are dealt with in English Law.

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A five per cent VAT will lead to fundamental change in the way businesses operate across around the region.

The adoption of value added tax by GCC countries in 2018 would enable the six countries to generate additional annual revenues of $25 billion, tax experts.

A five per cent VAT, which represents a major shift in tax policy that will impact all segments of the economy, will lead to a fundamental change in the way businesses operate across around the region.

In the UAE, VAT is expected to generate around Dh10 billion to Dh12 billion in additional revenues in the first year of implementation, or about 1.5-2 per cent of GDP. Companies that record annual revenues over Dh3.75 million will be obliged to register under the VAT system, while companies whose revenues range between Dh1.87 million and Dh3.75 million will have an option to either register under the system or not during the first phase of rolling out the system.

VAT will bring more people in the tax bracket in the UAE economy. It would increase tax to GDP Ratio and help the government in economic and structural reforms moving forward, experts said.

The additional $25 billion revenue will allow GCC governments to amend the tax policy and other fees and charges and increase infrastructure investments.

As businesses prepare to implement VAT across numerous sectors, they will need to invest in analyzing, redesigning, developing and implementing updated systems, processes, contracts and business arrangements to match the requirements of the new tax system.

All GCC countries are working towards VAT implementation by 1 January 2018 to avoid transaction and sales issues that could arise from intra-GCC trade.

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Oman is the latest Gulf Cooperation Council territory to confirm its participation in the bloc’s value-added tax project.

VAT is to be introduced in GCC countries from 2018, to diversify their tax bases away from revenues from oil.

Earlier this month, Kuwait also confirmed that it would introduce the levy from 2018.

In a meeting on June 16, 2016, the GCC Ministers of Finance approved a common framework for the development of national regimes for customs duties and value-added tax. The agreement paved the way for the introduction of harmonized excise duties from January 1, 2017, and a pan-GCC VAT framework from January 1, 2018.

The GCC is comprised of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman. The territories are expected to have a harmonized tax base and a five percent rate.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been enjoying a deep and longstanding bond based on their common geopolitical interests and similarities in approaches on a host of regional and international issues. 

The recent visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, minister of interior, to Turkey; preceded by the visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to Ankara early this year indicate the progressively growing relations between the two countries.

It is important to note here that Turkey has already been working with Riyadh by supporting Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen, and took part in the Saudi-led Islamic alliance against terrorism. 

It has also stated categorically that Iran has become more aggressive after signing a nuclear deal with the US. 

Khalil Ozcan, a Turkish parliamentarian and head of the Turkish-Saudi Association, who is also a graduate of King Saud University, said that Ankara sees the Kingdom as a trusted strategic partner, with which it has more in common than Iran. 

Interestingly, Turks also have a special place in their hearts for the Kingdom because it hosts Islam’s holiest sites. 

This attempt for more harmonious relations with Turkey is being made at the highest possible level. The royal visits from the Kingdom and the visits of high-ranking Turkish officials including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan send a message to everyone that the two countries are seeking stability and peace based on a policy of openness, partnerships and the prioritization of economic benefits over politics.

Referring to the important role played by Turkey, Adel Al-Jubeir, foreign minister, said that the Turkey’s engagement in the Middle East is essential for “regional stability.” 

He, while showing solidarity with Turkey, also underlined that the Erdogan government successfully defeated the attempted military coup. 

Also, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are on the same page on the regional conflicts and issues including Syria, Iran and Yemen.

The strategic cooperation council established by Saudi Arabia and Turkey is one step above a bilateral alliance. 

The purpose of the council includes deeper coordination with Turkey in light of the challenges both countries face in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya, from terrorism to extremism to Iran’s negative intervention in regional issues. 

The political battle over the implementation of resolution 2259, which for the first time endorsed a political process in Syria since the conflict there began five years ago, is inevitable. 

Moreover, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are both crucial for the quest to defeat Daesh in Iraq and Syria. 

They also have great economic potentials. 

Turkey and Saudi Arabia are among the leading countries in the Middle East, with a combined Gross Domestic Product of almost $1.4 trillion, an export volume of $540 billion and a population of 105 million. 

For decades, the two states have attempted to develop economic relations based on mutual respect.

Turkey sees its friend Saudi Arabia as one of the most important countries in the region. 

On commercial front, the two countries have reported consistent growth. 

Turkish exports to Saudi Arabia are mainly made up of clothing, textiles, iron, steel, automotive, fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products, while around 80 percent of Turkish imports from Saudi Arabia are composed of oil. 

Turkish trade centers, which have aimed to increase bilateral trade volume and develop joint investment projects in Saudi Arabia, are operational in Riyadh and Jeddah.

A large number of well-known Turkish construction companies have been successfully operating in Saudi Arabia for many years. 

There have also been many agreements made between the two states in order to secure good bilateral mechanisms for economic cooperation, with one being the Turkish-Saudi Arabian Joint Economic Commission (JEC), which was set up in accordance with Article Five of the Economic Technical Cooperation Agreement of 1974, to secure better relations between Turkish and Saudi business communities.

Referring to the progressively growing commercial relations, Turkish Ambassador Yunus Demirer said that trade between Turkey and Saudi Arabia has been growing consistently. He said that trade between Ankara and Riyadh has shown a stable trend with a much better performance in 2010-2012 period compared to that of Turkey’s overall trade volume. It reached to $8.1 billion in 2012. 

“Turkey’s export to Saudi Arabia, which was almost $555 million in 2002 reached to over $3.5 billion in 2015,” Demirer added.

Speaking about the upswing in trade and investment, Ambassador Demirer said that there is a genuine opportunity to establish a long-term partnership between Turkish and Saudi business communities. 

Saudi visitors feel at ease in Turkey, says the envoy, while adding further that Turkey is among the world’s top 12 producers of building materials such as cement, glass, steel and ceramic tiles. 

As neighbors and two of the world’s oldest civilizations, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have shared a long history of religious, cultural, scientific, and economic linkages, said a report. 

The report said that “the depth and diversity of Saudi-Turkish relations, joint commitment to stability and well-being of the region as well as intertwined interests lead the two countries to foster the existing relationship to higher and new levels of cooperation.” 

Referring to the investment climate in Turkey, the report said that the structural reforms carried out by the government in the last decade have improved the investment climate in Turkey, which in turn attracted substantial Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). 

Legislation on investment was streamlined along global standards. 

At present, Turkey has a foreign capital-friendly legislation and transparent regulatory system.

FDI legislation is based on the principle of equal treatment for domestic and foreign investors. 

Turkey’s legal system protects and facilitates acquisition and disposal of property rights, including land, buildings and mortgages. 

Also, generous tax privileges for free zones and technology development zones have provided a stimulus to the investment therein. 

As a result, Turkey has become the commercial/investment hub of the region. 

Foreign companies have been using free zones as well as Turkish partners to access the EU market as well as looking for business opportunities throughout the Balkans, Central Asia, the Caucasus and the Middle East. 

To this end, the report noted that about 400 Saudi firms directly or indirectly operate in Turkey at present. 

Saudi companies mainly invest in industrial sector in Turkey in collaboration with Turkish private and public sectors.  

They can also increase their investments in agricultural, finance, tourism and communications sectors. 

Turkey, on the other hand, has had a sizeable number of highly-qualified and technologically superior contractors, who are present in every nook and corner of the globe including the Gulf states today. 

In the field of tourism also, Turkey has been doing very well. 

A total of 39 million tourists visited Turkey in 2013 and, hence the tourism revenue reached $32 billion. 

Turkish tourism sector’s target is to be among the top five countries in the world in terms of attracting the highest number of tourists and receiving the highest amount of tourism revenue by 2023. 

It is important to note here that the tourism traffic between the Kingdom and Turkey has also been consistently growing. “Indeed, tourism is a dynamic and resilient sector in Turkey,” said the report. 

Speaking about Turkey’s global standing in world’s trade and economy, the diplomat said that “due to its globally integrated and solid economy, large and young population, Turkey is a source of new business and development in its region.” 

Turkey has shown remarkable performance with its strong growth over the last decade. A sound macroeconomic strategy in combination with prudent fiscal policies and major structural reforms integrated Turkish economy into the global economy. 

Besides, Turkey’s dynamic and growing economy creates many opportunities in trade and in other areas of cooperation in the region. 

In fact, the economic growth of Turkey has become sustainable through the macroeconomic improvements and fiscal discipline. 

During 2002-2014 period, Turkey ranked among the top five countries with its 4.9 percent annual GDP growth rate. 

On the other hand, Turkish contractors have become important players internationally, related to their domestic experience. 

Starting from 1972 to 2015 (August), Turkish companies have taken 8,620 projects in 104 countries worth of $318.4 billion. 

This increase is mainly related to the airport, metro, industrial production sites, refinery, energy infrastructure and highway projects which require more skills and necessitate more technology. 

This also enables Turkey to be among the top 12 producers of building materials in the world, particularly in the supply of products such as cement, glass, steel and ceramic tiles. 

These numbers highlight the power that the Turkish construction industry has on an international level. In 2015, 43 Turkish contracting companies were listed among the “Top 250 International Contractors” announced by a leading international industry magazine.

Turkish contracting companies in Saudi Arabia has undertaken over 100 projects up today. All these Turkish companies, especially contracting ones, area also doing exceptionally well in other GCC states. As the political, economic stability and the structural reforms contributed to the inflow of FDI to Turkey and on Turkish companies working overseas, these inflows increased the soundness of the Turkish economy in return. 

Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the Middle East. 

The Saudi government has ambitious infrastructure plans for the next years. 

Turkish firms, now increasingly internationally oriented, cannot ignore these facts. 

On the other hand, Turkish private sector proved its expertise and proficiency worldwide and earned a sound reputation in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. 

Also, Turkey hosts more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees as part of a historical humanitarian effort, and helps many more in Iraq. 

The humanitarian assistance of Turkey to those refugees has reached $4 billion. 

Turkey has the longest land border with Syria among all its neighbors. 

Together with Iraq, the length of the border is 1,295 km. 

This is a danger felt far more acutely by Turkey than any other country. 

Daesh, which constitutes a direct threat to Turkey’s national security, being priority, any threat coming out of this geography is first directed against Turkey. 

Turkey is and will always be on the frontline in combating terror, said the diplomat, while advising resolute and comprehensive action, which is required to curb terrorism, and to finish terror outfits in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere in the region.

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