TÜSİAD High Advisory Council Chair Ömer Aras: 'The most important problem is high inflation!' He pointed to war-torn Russia and Ukraine

The Turkish Industry and Business Association (TÜSİAD) High Advisory Council (YİK) meeting was held. TÜSİAD YİK Chair Mehmet Ömer Arif Aras made notable statements during the meeting.

"THE MOST IMPORTANT PROBLEM IS HIGH INFLATION"

Stating that Turkey's most important problem is high inflation, Aras said, "We must strengthen and continue the economic program."

Drawing attention to inflation data, Aras recalled the inflation figures in Russia and Ukraine, which are at war, and noted the following:

“We are in seventh place in inflation as of the end of 2024. As of May 2025, inflation is 35.4 percent according to TUIK data. Inflation in war-torn Ukraine is 15 percent, and around 10 percent in Russia. Price stability is the most important problem of our economy. We must absolutely solve this. High inflation is not just rising prices. It is a state of deterioration and instability that spreads to every cell of society. It disrupts economic rationality and income distribution, erodes trust, and damages the social fabric.

No segment of society can defend inflation. For this reason, we must fight against inflation together as the private sector and the public sector. We must reduce inflation to low single digits as soon as possible. Since the middle of 2023, we have been implementing an economic program that prefers a soft landing in inflation, is spread over time, and is weighted toward monetary policy. This approach, which controls this with real interest rates and uses what are called macroprudential measures—primarily keeping credit growth under control to curb demand—has captured a downward trend in inflation.”

HIS SPEECH IN FEBRUARY

TÜSİAD Chair Orhan Turan and YİK Chair Mehmet Ömer Arif Aras had become the center of attention with their statements at the association's general assembly meeting on February 13.

Recalling the hotel fire tragedy in Kartalkaya, Aras had said, “We lost 78 of our lives in the fire in Kartalkaya. A fire can happen, but 78 people should not die. If they are dying, the reason is buildings not constructed according to regulations and a lack of oversight. It is a collapsing system. Since this event happened recently, it is still in our hearts.” In the continuation of his speech, Aras had recalled the disasters that occurred during the AKP era.

Reacting to the operations organized by the AKP against the opposition and elected mayors through the judiciary, and recalling the lieutenants dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) for saying ‘We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal’, he had said, “We cannot say whether there is a crime in these events or not. However, we can say that these events, which followed one another in a very short time, have created anxiety in society and shaken trust.”

HE HAD APPEARED IN COURT

Following this speech, an investigation was launched against TÜSİAD Chair Turan and YİK Chair Aras, who were targeted by pro-government media, on charges of 'publicly spreading misleading information' and 'attempting to influence fair trial'.

Turan and Aras, who were brought to the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan under police escort, were issued a travel ban and judicial control measures.

The travel ban and judicial control decision against Aras and Turan, who appeared before a judge for the first time on May 20, were lifted.

NİHAT ZEYBEKCİ HAD VISITED TÜSİAD

On May 2, AKP Deputy Chair Nihat Zeybekci visited TÜSİAD and reacted to the detention process applied to TÜSİAD executives with the words, "It is not appropriate for the TÜSİAD Chair to be taken to give a statement under escort.”