Turkey’s Şimşek awarded ‘Finance Minister of the Year’

WASHINGTON - Anadolu Agency

Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek was awarded “Finance Minister of the Year for Emerging Europe 2013” by Emerging Markets. He is the first-ever Turkish minister to have won the award. AA photo

Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek was awarded “Finance Minister of the Year for Emerging Europe” by Emerging Markets, an American magazine on international economy, global finance, news, analysis and opinion, in Washington.

Şimşek is the first-ever Turkish minister to have won the award, in recognition of his success in “managing to contain Turkey’s budget, halving Turkey’s public debt and presiding over the country’s becoming of investment grade”, the magazine said.

“The Turkish story stands out as the prime example of how numerous emerging market countries have not only managed to turn around their fiscal situation in the past years but also to consolidate the backdrop and increase fiscal credibility at a time when G7 countries are struggling to deal with an ever-increasing debt burden and an ageing population,” says Simon Quijano-Evans, head of emerging markets research at Commerzbank.

Meanwhile, Colombian Mauricio Cardenas was named Finance Minister of the Year for Latin America, Philippines’ Cesar Purisima received Finance Minister of the Year title for Asia, Morocco’s Nizar Baraka for the Year Middle East and North Africa, and South Africa’s Pravin Gordhan for the sub-Saharan African region.