Macro-financial stability a priority, says Şimşek

ANKARA

Establishing macro-financial stability will be the government’s priority, newly appointed Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said, stressing that bringing down inflation to single digits in the medium term is crucial.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on June 3, named the former economy minister, Şimşek, as the treasury and finance minister to replace Nureddin Nebati.

“For sustainable development, establishing fiscal and price discipline will be our main priority,” Şimsek said at a ceremony on June 4 in the capital Ankara, where he took over the post from Nebati.

Türkiye has no other choice but to return to a rational ground, a rule-based, predictable Turkish economy will be key to achieving the desired prosperity, Şimşek added.

“Our main aim is to boost social welfare. Transparency, consistency, predictability and compliance with international norms will be our basic principles in achieving this goal,” Şimşek said.

It is significant for Türkiye, in the medium-term, to bring down inflation to single digits, to increase predictability and to ramp up institutional transformation, which will help reduce the current account deficit, Şimsek said.

“We will prioritize macro-financial stability by strengthening the institutional quality and capacity at a time when global challenges and geopolitical tensions heighten,” he added.

Şimşek also said that works will be launched for a medium-term program “without wasting any more time.”

“Our main target will be to support the Central Bank in the fight against inflation,” the minister said.

Şimsek, well-respected by international financial markets, served as finance minister and deputy prime minister between 2009 and 2018 in Erdoğan governments.

Nebati became the finance minister in December 2021.

The reappointment of Şimşek, a former Merrill Lynch economist, to the helm of the economy, was widely anticipated.

Analysts expect Şimşek’s appointment to have a positive impact on investor sentiment and the markets.

The talks of Şimşek’s possible return already sent Borsa Istanbul’s benchmark BIST 100 index 11.6 percent higher last week.

Meanwhile, Cevdet Yılmaz, who previously served as the development minister, has been appointed as the vice president.

Erdoğan appointed Alparslan Bayraktar as the new energy minister to replace Fatih Dönmez and appointed Ömer Bolat as the trade Minister.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has kept his post in the new cabinet.

Mehmet Fahit Kacır will serve as the industry and technology minister, while Abdulkadir Uraloğlu is the new transport and infrastructure minister.

Erdoğan also appointed İbrahim Yumaklı as the agriculture and forestry minister.