Minister Şimşek: 'The CBRT believes it has tightened sufficiently'

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek made statements regarding the economy at the "Istanbul PPP Week" event, organized in Istanbul in cooperation with the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Research Center and DEİK.

Touching upon the economic program that Turkey has been implementing since September, Şimşek explained the goals of the economic program.

"SUPPORTIVE POLICIES WILL CONTINUE"

Şimşek said, "The program aims to ensure price stability, restore fiscal discipline, reduce the current account deficit, rebalance growth, and, of course, implement structural reforms that will increase productivity and competitiveness. In line with our price stability goal, the necessary steps have been taken in monetary policy, and the tightening process has begun."

Stating that they have implemented some selective credit tightening and quantitative tightening measures, Şimşek said, "We have implemented supportive fiscal and income policies. We will continue to implement more supportive income and fiscal policies in the coming period as well."

"PATIENCE IS REQUIRED"

Stating that "The CBRT believes it has tightened sufficiently," Mehmet Şimşek expressed their belief that the implemented economic program will work, emphasizing that the program is still in its very early stages and that one must be patient and determined for the future.

Noting that Turkey does not have a growth problem, Şimşek continued:

"We want to reduce the current account deficit with a balanced growth path. Turkey does not have a growth problem. As I said at the beginning, Turkey is not China or India in terms of size, but it is definitely on par with the best-performing emerging markets. Why? Because this is an entrepreneurial country. We have a relatively positive demographic structure in terms of population. So, we have good infrastructure. You know, when you look at domestic demand alone, Turkey grew by an average of 5.5 percent over the last 20 years, and if you add net exports, it grew by 5.4 percent. This is where the problem lies. This is where we need to improve the composition."

"RESERVES HAVE IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY"

Stating that Central Bank reserves have improved significantly since May of last year and that they have been under pressure for the last few weeks due to exporters' calls for a weaker lira, Şimşek noted the following:

"There is a lot of speculation as the election approaches. I explained our perspective after the election in a television program I attended yesterday. But of course, you know, people tend to look at the past and carry the past into the future. It is important to correct the course of monetary policy because current conditions are significantly different compared to the pre-election period of last year. There are other steps we have taken as well. Rating agencies have upgraded the outlook as a result of the steps we have taken. When we look at the market, Turkey's risk perception is two notches better than its credit rating, and that is what really matters."

URBAN TRANSFORMATION MESSAGE FOR ISTANBUL

Stating that Turkey needs urban transformation, Şimşek added that investments must be made to reduce earthquake risks in a city like Istanbul and that this requires a long-term perspective.