Minister: Turkish economy getting back to normal

By News Center

Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati has said that the country’s economy is returning to normal, Yeni Shafak has reported.

Nebati made the remarks while evaluating Turkey's economic agenda in a joint live relay by TRT 1 and TRT Haber.

Commenting on the new economic model approved by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the minister underlined that following this approval everything in Turkey is returning to normal.

 “The developments regarding the currency attacks in the past few months, and the comments made about it, were actually a discussion of something that was not normal. Now we are back to normal,” Nebati stressed.

He added that the Turkish citizens, institutions, public administrations, as well as politics, are entering a process where everything continues within its normal framework, which is very important for Turkey.

"We have entered a very important process where actors engaged in all kinds of economic activities can see the future," Nebati said.

He stressed that Turkey became a country that used the opportunities very well during the crisis in 2020.  

The developing countries such as China and Turkey have started to handle most of the world's trade leading to a transformation in the global economy, the minister said.

“Our share in the global economy has increased. Our share in exports has also increased. One of the most important features of Turkey is that it can recover very quickly when there is a decline,” he underlined.

Nebati emphasized that the government wants to boost qualified human capacity, get rid of the middle-income trap and bring inflation to the single digits by applying the new economic model.

“When we look at our current account balance, the current account deficit is at a high level while the country is growing. We made a correlation, from the 1990s to the present... Now we had to develop a model. While the whole world is shrinking, we said that we will be an exception with the measures we take. We were among the growing countries during the pandemic period,” Nebati said.

He noted that the government predicts a double-digit growth by late 2021 and there is a great revival in Turkey adding that the country’s exports are very strong and the budget deficit is below 3.5 percent.

“The Turkish model is coming in strong. Divided roads in this country have increased from 6,000 to 28,000 km. The highway length has doubled. We have 56 airports, four more are coming. We made Turkey the airport center of the world. We have 2053, 2071 vision documents” the minister stressed.

Turkey has become one of the strongest countries in the world in the health sector and set an example to the world during the pandemic period, Nebati underlined

“The basis of our model is high growth and low current account deficit. Turkey will seize the historical opportunity. By ensuring macroeconomic stability, we will increase production and exports, and solve the current account deficit,” he stressed.

Commenting on the recent economic difficulties, Nebati said that 75 percent of those who have foreign currency debt in Turkey are 1000 companies, individuals and institutions are not indebted. He added the government has increased the minimum wage by more than 50 percent, far above the inflation rate, removed the stamp tax from all wages, assuring that it will also overcome the inflation.

Addressing those who did not reduce prices after the fall in foreign exchange, Minister Nebati said: "If you take an opportunity, if you put this country in danger, then you will understand what kind of a ministry the Treasury and Finance Ministry is."

He also warned those who make false propaganda on social media about the economy.

Speaking about the recently launched currency-protected TL deposit system, Nebati assured that it will benefit all citizens who invest their foreign currencies in it.

He added that everybody will be able to benefit from the system without restrictions and the government will reduce the dollarization to the lowest level with these measures it takes. There is no requirement to have a currency account and there is no one-time application. The person can enter the system even after a three-month interval, the minister concluded.