Turkey to use 'Turkiye' in all activities, branding in bid to boost national pride

Turkey will use 'Turkiye' in all communications and activities to strengthen the country's national brand, Turkey's state Anadolu Agency has reported.

The spelling will replace international variations of the country's name, including 'Turkey', 'Turke' and 'Turquie'.

The move was announced in a circular issued by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday.

"The phrase Türkiye represents and expresses the culture, civilisation and values of the Turkish nation in the best way," it said.

"In this context, the phrase "Made in Türkiye" is now being used instead of 'Made in Turkey' on our export products, which are the pride of our country in international trade."

Turkey's Director of Communications, Fahrettin Altun, hailed the move in a tweet which said: "Another valuable step has been taken to strengthen the Turkish brand".

The branding move comes as Turkey's beleaguered currency has been plunging to all-time lows against the U.S. dollar and the euro, with President Erdogan pushing on with a widely criticised effort to cut interest rates despite surging consumer prices.

As a result, families are struggling to buy food and other goods and the Turkish lira has lost around 40% of its value since the start of the year, becoming one of the world's worst-performing currencies.