Talk of large inflows of Arab investment has been a recurring theme in Turkey since the 1980s, starting during the tenure of the late Turgut Ozal, who served first as Turkish premier and then president from 1983 until 1993. Such hype about “Arab capital” has seemingly developed into something of a complement to political efforts to promote conservatism and to Islamize Turkey, a trend that also began under Ozal and continues today under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Arab capital” refers to money from the Gulf, in particular from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Investments from these countries, including real estate purchases by their nationals, have not only been exaggerated, but are also portrayed as an alternative to investment from the West.

In the past several months, the dollar has soared dramatically against the Turkish lira amid an exodus of mostly Western, short-term foreign investors and a rush for dollars among indebted Turkish companies, which are running a foreign exchange deficit of $213 billion. With this trend, lo and behold, the hype of “Arab capital” has returned. Turks are being told that Gulf money will soon be flowing in to curb the unruly dollar.

The daily Sabah, a semi-official government mouthpiece, trumpeted on Jan. 14 ,“120 billion dollars coming to Turkey!” Given that accumulated foreign investment in Turkey over 50-odd years is only $140 billion, the report sounds fishy. “Turkey is on the radar of foreign investors. After the Abu Dhabi Investment Group’s statement about a $100 billion investment, the National Standard Finance has now pressed the button for a $20 billion investment,” the report said. It quoted Abu Dhabi Investment Group President Zayed Bin Aweidha as saying the investments would rein in the dollar and make up for the hitherto damage.