Erdoğan vows to cut Inflation to 20 pct by year's end

ISTANBUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has pledged to bring inflation down to 20 percent by the end of the year, citing ongoing economic reforms and increased export performance.

"We maintain our uncompromising stance in the fight against inflation. Inflation has been declining uninterruptedly for a year," Erdoğan said during a speech at a Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) event in Istanbul.

According to data released in May by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the country's annual inflation rate stood at 35.4 percent.

"We expect to see inflation in the 20s by the end of the year," Erdoğan said.

"2024 was a year full of important successes for our country... The momentum in our economy continues in 2025."

He said Türkiye’s structural economic resilience had improved and reliance on external financing had diminished, minimizing vulnerabilities.

Exports featured prominently in Erdoğan’s address, with the president declaring 2024 a record year.

Türkiye's share of global exports rose to 1.07 percent, he said, while the number of companies exporting over $1 billion increased to 18, and those exceeding $100 million reached 302.

"The increase in Türkiye's exports shows a great change not only in quantity but also in quality," Erdoğan said.

The president also emphasized the importance of expanding into new markets, citing rising geopolitical tensions and the threat of trade wars.

"These factors remind us that we need to increase the geographical diversity of our exports," he said, adding that the country aims to raise exports to distant countries to $50 billion by 2028 and to increase the share of exports to Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries to 30 percent.

Erdoğan underscored the government’s efforts to support exporters through trade and tax agreements as well as financial diversification.

Despite economic headwinds and a challenging global environment, Erdoğan said Türkiye had achieved its gains through perseverance.

"We did not come to these days by walking in a rose garden without thorns. On the contrary, we came here by fighting our necks out, overcoming the difficulties and tearing down the dams one by one," he said.

The president acknowledged that the world is undergoing a period of deep structural transformation and escalating geopolitical instability, saying that navigating through such a landscape will take time.

"Establishing balances, ensuring stability and transitioning from stormy waters to calm waters will take a little more time," he said. "But Türkiye is not leaving things to chance — it is preparing for every scenario."