Finance minister meets int’l investors

WASHINGTON

Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati has underlined that the Turkish economy continues to draw interest from international investors during his visit to the U.S. capital.

He met with prominent portfolio investors in a meeting organized by banking giant JPMorgan on April 21.

Nebati arrived in Washington D.C., on April 19 to attend meetings of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group Spring Meetings.

“We are very pleased to see that interest in Turkey continues to grow,” he said on his Twitter account. “We talked to the investors about the recent developments and conveyed the opportunities offered by our country within the framework of the Turkey Economic Model to them,” the minister said.

The Turkish government’s new approach, dubbed as Turkey Economy Model, prioritizes a current account surplus, increasing exports, GDP growth and expansion in employment, while keeping interest rates low. The government has said the inflation rate - which has hit 61 percent - will fall to single digits next year under its new economic path aimed at achieving a current account surplus.

Nebati separately held a meeting with Alok Sharma, president of the U.N. Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26.

“Stressing that our cooperation is important for the Paris Agreement and the COP26 goals, we stressed the importance of acting consultatively in the upcoming period to implement new green projects,” the minister said.

Nebati also met with Makhtar Diop, managing director of the International Finance Corporation (IFC). “Expressing our determination to create a carbon-free economic development and growth model, we held a meeting on strengthening our cooperation in ongoing projects,” he added.

The two officials had a productive conversation on Turkey’s initiatives to make the economy more environmentally friendly, Diop said.

Nebati said he addressed global economic developments in a meeting with European Central Bank (ECB) Governor Christine Lagarde.

He held talks with Odile Renaud-Basso, the president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Previously, he met with executives of some U.S. companies at two meetings this week.