Turkey says "recovers economic crisis by itself"

Turkish finance minister said on Sunday that Turkey recovered from the global economic crisis thanks to its own measures and resources.

Speaking to Turkey's Kanal 7 TV channel, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said that a total of 22 countries, including several EU-member states, requested IMF's help after the recent crisis.

"Because, they could not deal with it on their own. Turkey has dealt with the crisis through its own measures and resources," Simsek said.

Upon a question on the unemployment problem in Turkey, Simsek said unemployment figures nearly doubled in numerous countries over the last 1-2 years due to the global economic crisis.

Pointing to the unemployment figures which rose from 10.3 to 13 percent since 2002 in Turkey, Simsek said such increase was relatively limited compared to many countries.

Simsek said the world and Turkey started to recover from the economic crisis, however, it would take some time to see an increase in employment figures.

Simsek also said that Turkey would be the second fastest growing country among OECD states in 2010.

Commenting on the remarks of Republican People's Party (CHP) chairperson Deniz Baykal, who stated that Turkey was affected the most by the global economic crisis, Simsek said the situation was not as bad as the opposition claimed, adding that Turkey got the highest increase in its rating in comparison with other countries.

/World Bulletin/