Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz gives a date for single-digit inflation

Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz made assessments regarding developments in the economy.

Speaking to TRT Haber, Yılmaz said regarding the Medium-Term Program (OVP), "Our medium-term program is working and showing its effects. When we look at the basic indicators, we closed last year well in terms of growth, achieving 4.5 percent growth. For the first time, our country has exceeded 1 trillion dollars in economic size. We are the 17th largest economy in the world, and the 11th largest economy according to purchasing power parity."

Claiming that per capita income has exceeded 13 thousand dollars, Yılmaz said that exports and tourism have also shown a serious performance during this period.

Arguing that the effects of the roadmap in the fight against high inflation have begun to be seen, Yılmaz stated, "Our average monthly inflation last year was around 4.3. Finally, we saw 3.2 inflation in March. We expect this to lose more momentum in the coming months. Our monthly inflation rate will show a downward trend. The effects on an annual basis will take some time; after May, starting with June inflation, we will also see declines on an annual basis. In the second half of the year, especially in these four months of June, July, August, and September, we will see a faster decline in terms of annual inflation."

Emphasizing that reducing inflation is their primary priority, Yılmaz said, "If the citizen currently sees inflation as the number one priority issue, it is also the government's number one priority issue. We are targeting below 20 percent next year, and in 2026, our country will return to single-digit figures. We have made the plan and program for this."

Regarding the prevention of exorbitant prices, Yılmaz made the following assessments:

"We have always been a government in favor of a free market economy, but it is a fact all over the world that a free market is not an unregulated market. On the contrary, it is a market where rules are much more dominant and effective.

Recently, much more decisive steps have been taken regarding our competition policies. We are making an effort for competition law to work much more effectively and quickly in the coming period; perhaps some regulations will also be made within this framework."

Stating that a study is being carried out on this, Yılmaz noted the following:

"Our goal is to make sanctions more effective and deterrent, and in this way, to prevent the formation of unfair pricing practices for consumers in the market. There appears to be a need for a legal regulation on this matter. I think that such proposals will come to the agenda of our Parliament in the near future. We are definitely in favor of a total consensus on these issues; we believe that there should be solidarity. We can in no way condone certain circles acting with excessive greed for profit and opportunism, and we will take the necessary steps decisively in this regard."

PUBLIC SAVINGS

Stating that a serious study has been initiated following the 'public savings' statements by AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Yılmaz said, "The Ministry of Treasury and Finance and the Presidency of Strategy and Budget are conducting comprehensive, multi-item studies. When the study is finished, it will be presented to our President."

Yılmaz continued as follows:

"In terms of our macro policy, consumption needs to reach a more appropriate level of increase and domestic savings need to increase. We will work to save more in both the public and private sectors and to channel savings into more productive areas. We are aiming for both savings and efficiency. Our new study also has a dimension: monitoring and auditing. There were public savings circulars in the past as well. There is criticism that they were not implemented sufficiently. Taking this into account, we are planning to simultaneously put into effect a mechanism that very carefully monitors and audits the implementation of institutions after these legal and administrative regulations."

TRADE WITH ISRAEL

When asked what developments Turkey's export restrictions on Israel might cause in the region, Yılmaz said that humanity is being slaughtered in Gaza before the eyes of the whole world.

Emphasizing that Turkey has been by Palestine's side from the very first moment, Yılmaz said:

"Trade in military materials and war materials with Israel has never been conducted. In that geography, there is a population of 7 million of Jewish origin and more than 8 million Muslim Palestinian population. The trade there is also trade with the Palestinians there. It is also trade that is largely focused on the private sector. Trade restrictions were imposed knowing that it would also have a somewhat negative impact on our Palestinian brothers. Why did we do this? Israel blocked Turkey's aid from the air. There is no other country that does this besides us. Unfortunately, despite all this, a major campaign of lies and slander was carried out internally. As Turkey, we are firmly by the side of our Palestinian brothers, no matter what anyone says, no matter what campaign of lies and slander is organized. Our expectation is uninterrupted and sufficient humanitarian aid as soon as possible. We linked these restrictions to that. We will do this until there is uninterrupted humanitarian aid and a ceasefire."