A few months back, economists were openly debating whether fast-growing Turkey should be elevated into the elite club of ‘BRIC’ economies — Brazil, Russia, India and China — that are slated to dominate global growth over the next decades.

Aside from the fact that it would have made the acronym less catchy (think BRICT or TRIBC) investor concerns over Turkey’s rapidly widening current account deficit and Middle East turmoil conspired to put that debate on ice. But Turkey is considered a key player in the second-tier of emerging economic powerhouses: referred to by the lesser known, and, alas, more forgettable acronym CIVETS.

Turkey, Columbia, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Africa and Egypt — all large, but not continental size economies with young populations — have been attracting waves of foreign investment. These economies are expanding robustly, are not overly reliant on natural resources and — with the exception of Egypt — possess relative political stability.

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox said this week that the only way to end the drug violence plaguing his country is for the United States to legalize drugs.

"As a country, we are going through problems due to the fact that the United States consumes too many drugs," Fox, who served as Mexico's president from 2000-2006, told reporters Monday night before a speech at the Turkish-American Chamber of Commerce in San Antonio.

"I would recommend to legalize, de-penalize all drugs," Fox added. He said the drug violence threatens to rip his country apart. It has claimed more than 37,000 lives in Mexico since 2006, when President Felipe Calderon took office and sent the army to combat cartels fighting for smuggling routes to the United States.

President Barack Obama has made it a priority to work with Calderon to curb smuggling over the nearly 2,000-mile border, a lucrative transit point for criminal networks hauling drugs and illegal immigrants north to the United States and guns and billions in cash profits south to Mexico.

A week ago, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Almazbek Sharshenovich Atambayev arrived in Turkey for a two-day visit, meeting with top officials and attending the Turkey-Kyrgyzstan Trade and Investment Forum organised by Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists.

"This is exactly the time to invest [in Kyrgyzstan]," Atambayev said in Ankara. "We are brothers and friends. We have a history we are proud of. Our future will also be common and glorious."

Despite the cultural and historical ties, the two countries have struggled to boost bilateral economic ties.

"Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have gas. Kazakhstan has oil and gas. Tajikistan has aluminum," explained Oleg Samukhin, transport economist from the USAID Regional Trade Liberalisation and Customs Project. "Kyrgyzstan does not have much to offer."

Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s second- biggest carmaker, was chosen to supply New York’s next fleet of yellow taxi cabs, a deal city officials valued at $1 billion over 10 years.

Nissan beat out proposals from two other finalists in the “Taxi of Tomorrow” competition: Ford Motor Co. (F) and Karsan Otomotiv Sanayi & Ticaret AS of Turkey, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today. The automaker’s NV200 minivan will become the new standard, eventually replacing the city’s 13,237-car fleet, which now consists of 16 models.