Turkey’s new economy minister pledges to ‘return to the rational ground’

Mehmet Şimşek, Turkey’s newly appointed Treasury and Finance Minister, has pledged that his country would return to “rational ground” in its economic policies. 

Mehmet Şimşek has said that the main goal of the Turkish government is to increase social welfare. While attending the handover ceremony, he said, “Transparency, consistency, predictability and compliance with international norms will be our basic principles in achieving this goal.” He also pledged to reduce inflation to single digits. He said, “Our main policy will support the central bank in the fight against inflation through the fiscal policy and structural reforms to be implemented.”

Earlier, Şimşek has served as the Minister of Treasury and Finance and Deputy Prime Minister between 2009 and 2018. He was named as the Minister of Treasury and Finance on 3 June 2023. Şimşek, who is also an economist, is highly regarded by financial markets.

High inflation and depreciation of the Turkish currency lira have affected the lives of people in Turkey. It also increased the cost of living. The weakened lira has increased prices of commodities, making imports, fuel and everyday goods more expensive. 

According to Bloomberg, in 2022, Turkey and Argentina recorded the highest inflation rates among the Group of 20 (G20) nations. The inflation rate increased to almost 70 per cent in April 2022.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, aims to boost economic growth and employment. The economy of the country increased 4 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023. 

Former Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati acknowledged the challenging global financial conditions. He highlighted that Turkey wanted to boost investment, production and employment. 

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In February this year, the central bank of Turkey cut its policy rate by another 50 basis points to support the recovery of the country after the destructive earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people.

Mehmet Şimşek, Turkey’s newly appointed Treasury and Finance Minister, has pledged that his country would return to “rational ground” in its economic policies.