‘For God’s sake, take my word, there is no crisis in Turkey’: Economy minister

İZMİR-Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

Existing conditions will not end with an economic crisis as “Turkey is a strong country,” Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci vowed on Aug. 21. 

“Turkey is a strong and great country. Some people claim that an economic crisis may break out … But there will be no crisis. For God’s sake, take my word for it,” Zeybekci said. 

He noted that the country’s total debt is currently at around $400 billion, and the short-term debt of the private sector is around $120 billion. 

“A majority of the short-term debts are owed by the private sector, not the public sector. Our banks’ capital adequacies are at good levels … Our exports will start to increase again this month,” Zeybekci said. 

He also claimed that the recent dramatic losses in the value of the Turkish Lira do not indicate that the economy is in trouble. 

“If anyone says some negative trends should be expected in the economy in the future for whatever reason, they should name these reasons one by one,” Zeybekci said, criticizing speculative moves in the economy. 

“As long as we do not increase our national income per capita to $20,000, we’ll face such traitors in the economy. All we need to do is develop our country,” he said.