Deputy PM assures investors of democracy in Turkey

LONDON

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek has sought to reassure international investors about Turkey, saying the country is not entering a democratic recession but will develop freedoms, according to Reuters. 

“Turkey is not going toward a recession in terms of democracy. It will improve rights and freedoms and strengthen the rule of law,” Şimşek told reporters in London on May 12, adding that the country had gone through a rough patch following last year’s coup attempt but that it was now on the rebound.

Şimşek, a deputy prime minister for economic affairs who served as finance minister in the past, said the country aims to bring inflation down to less than 5 percent.

“This is a temporary blip on the back of currency weakness but also food prices have been an important factor,” he said of inflation which in April hit its highest in 8-1/2 years.

Turkey’s GDP, which grew 2.9 percent last year, was around 2.59 trillion Turkish Liras ($856.8 billion) in 2016, compared with 2.34 trillion liras ($861.5 billion) the previous year while the country’s unemployment rate stood at 13 percent in January, marking nearly four million jobless people aged 15 years old and over, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) figures.

The European Union has raised its forecast for Turkey’s economic growth from 2.8 to 3 percent for this year and from 3.2 to 3.3 percent for 2018, according to the 2017 Spring Economic Forecasts’ Report released by the EU Commission on May 11, state-run Anadolu Agency said.           

“The strong loss in momentum that the Turkish economy experienced during 2016 is expected to reverse only gradually as uncertainty recedes during the year,” the report stated. 

“Supported first by net trade, momentum is set to improve toward the end of the year as domestic demand benefits from improvements in monetary conditions and in confidence,” he said.