Erdoğan summons urgent economy meeting as Turkish Lira plunges

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan summoned top members of the government’s economic administration for an urgent meeting on May 9 amid continued plunges in the value of the Turkish Lira.

The meeting was held in Ankara in the afternoon of May 9 with the attendance of senior figures including Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal and Central Bank Governor Murat Çetinkaya under the presidency of Erdoğan.

A follow-up statement was not expected to be made, according to presidential sources.

“All recent economic developments will be discussed today, including Turkey’s import-export balance, employment market and investment plans... Today, other issues, mainly Turkey’s interest rates, inflation issue and current account deficit, will also be discussed,” Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın said in a press conference ahead of the economic summit.

“If any short and clear message should be given, I can say that Turkey’s fiscal discipline will be preserved under the leadership of our president [Erdoğan]. I mean, any election economy is not the case,” Kalın also said, adding that there was nothing unusual with holding economy meetings time to time.

The lira plunged to yet more record lows on the morning of May 9, dropping below 4.37 against the dollar, amid rising global geopolitical risks after U.S. President Donald Trump decided to pull his country out of the international nuclear deal with Iran on May 8.

The Central Bank introduced additional liquidity measures to shore up the struggling lira. Following the meeting call and the Bank’s intervention, the lira recovered to 4.28.

The lira has been under severe pressure for months amid a range of economic concerns including persistently high inflation.