Economy success story being damaged: Top Turkish bosses

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

DHA Photo

Turkey’s economic success story has been deteriorating for a while and the country needs to change this atmosphere by means of comprehensive reforms in various fields, said the head of the country’s top business organization at a conference over the inflation trends in the Turkish economy.

“A number of new refreshing institutions, modern rules and an improving investment environment, all of which played a great role in writing the success story, have recently been replaced by negative conditions which challenge the success story. The EU membership target is now vague and the rule of law is weakening. A slower structural-making process is now the case,” TÜSİAD President Cansen Başaran Symes said at the conference organized by Koç University and the TÜSİAD Economic Researches Forum on April 10. 

She said a much more positive atmosphere needed to be built across the country.

“Economic performance, democratic standards, institutions and the rule of law are all a part of the whole structure. Many recent studies have shown there is a strong relationship between a strong democracy and economic development. According to these studies, stronger democracies fuel economic growth by means of several tools, including inclusive economic reforms, the spread of an educational system of high quality, a developed heath system, an improved investment environment and the establishment of social peace… We need to maintain all of them,” she said.

She noted Turkey had achieved this before.

“We need to revive the EU membership agenda and create a positive atmosphere within the country by refreshing good policies and practices in line with a comprehensive reform initiative. All of us need this,” she said.

Symes said Turkey’s economic growth has been slowing down and there has been a decrease in the flow of investments.

“The slowdown in the GDP’s growth has become a global problem since the 2008 crisis… Turkey, however, faces a rising inflation problem in addition to the slowing down in growth, causing Turkey to be differentiated from other countries negatively,” she said.

Symes underlined inflation has been increasing recently, topping the agenda over the conditions of the investment environment or development.

“The rising trend in the inflation rate has been a potential obstacle before the growth and the competitiveness of the economy. This potential risk makes us concerned, especially when the past bad experiences with high inflation problems are considered,” she said.