EBRD commits to Turkey for long-term

ANKARA

An international development bank that supports projects in central Europe and central Asia is completely and utterly committed to Turkey for the long term, its head has said.

“There should be no doubts in anyone’s mind about the EBRD’s movement in Turkey,” Suma Chakrabarti, the president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), told Anadolu Agency yesterday.

Chakrabarti said the bank has invested 11.5 billion euros (some $13 billion) in Turkey since 2009, adding investments last year alone amounted to some $1.2 billion and $621.5 million in 2019. “I am pretty confident that we will come close to a billion in this year,” Chakrabarti said. “We also do like lending in local currency...We have seen the potential of the country. It’s enormous and we could be part of this success story.” He added that the EBRD expected better growth in the Turkish economy and more investments next year.

About the bank’s new five-year strategy for the 2019-2024 period, Chakrabarti said that the bank would focus on strengthening economic resilience in Turkey, bringing venture capital for innovation, raising female participation to the labor force, and supporting a greener economy.

Chakrabarti said the bank has good relations with the Turkish government as well despite 97 percent of its investments is in the private sector.

He said that the government and central bank’s tightening policy has made a huge difference in the right direction.

“Of course that tightening led the economy to slow down, it has to slow down. There was too much consumption and easy money going on. I think now we can see the Turkish economy leaving the recession behind,” he stressed.

He said the significant drop in the inflation rate and the current account deficit and the recovery in the Turkish lira are “signs for health”.

“Foreign investors come and ask me what I think for the long term prospects, I always say it’s such a diversified economy. Long term prospects will always be good, even if there is difficulty at the moment at the market for Turkey.”