Economic Coordination Council meets

The Economic Coordination Council (EKK) meeting was held in Şanlıurfa under the chairmanship of Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz. A written statement was issued following the meeting.

The statement noted that a year marked by ongoing geopolitical tensions in the global economy, rising protectionist trends, and persistent uncertainties has been left behind, and emphasized that in this global conjuncture, Turkey has been implementing the economic program it launched in 2023 with effective coordination.

EMPLOYMENT AND CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT

Pointing out that thanks to the program, inflation has begun to decline, rebalancing in the economy has been achieved, and the current account deficit has decreased significantly, the statement noted the following:

"While the unemployment rate has remained in the single digits, employment has reached historically high levels. International reserves have risen to record levels. The country's risk premium has fallen, external borrowing costs have declined, and the access of banks and the real sector to external financing under more favorable conditions has increased. Macro-financial stability has strengthened. Confidence in the Turkish lira has been consolidated. While healing the wounds of the earthquake, the budget deficit has decreased and fiscal discipline has been strengthened. Our country's process of exiting the grey list has been completed. Our country became the only nation to receive a two-notch credit rating upgrade from all three major credit rating agencies at once. Thanks to all these gains, we have established a solid foundation for the two important goals of our program: establishing price stability and accelerating structural transformation. We continue to implement structural reforms within a calendar framework."

Noting that regional development is an indispensable element for further increasing Turkey's competitiveness and growth potential, the statement included the following: "With the development policies we will implement for this purpose, we aim to reduce regional development disparities, ensure that social welfare is distributed more evenly across the entire country, and enable regions to utilize their potential at the highest level."

Underlining that the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) is an important regional program that contributes to the Turkish economy with the prosperity it creates, the statement indicated that with the new GAP Action Plan, agricultural irrigation investments in the region will be completed, smart agricultural practices will be adopted, rural economies will be diversified, tourism-oriented growth will be ensured, and investments in labor-intensive sectors will be encouraged.

AGRICULTURE EVALUATED AS A DRIVING FORCE

Emphasizing that regional development programs will continue to be implemented in the coming period with a holistic perspective and the cooperation of relevant institutions, particularly in the transportation, industry, tourism, and logistics sectors, the statement noted the following:

"In this vein, the main issues discussed at today's EKK meeting are as follows: Policies to increase the global competitiveness of our regions, minimize interregional development disparities, and ensure post-earthquake recovery within the framework of the National Regional Development Strategy (2024-2028) were discussed. Within the scope of the Local Development Move Incentive Program, project topics that will provide significant contributions to regional development and increase investment, production, and employment were evaluated, and additional steps that could be taken in this context were consulted. The current status of irrigation investments in the GAP region was reviewed, and measures to disseminate sustainable and smart agricultural practices in the coming period and ensure that agriculture becomes a driving force in regional development were evaluated. The importance of increasing food production within the scope of strengthening social welfare and combating inflation was emphasized, and the steps to be taken in this area, primarily regarding public investment priorities, were discussed. The possible effects of recent developments in Syria on our foreign trade were evaluated, and the policies to be followed in the new period were discussed."