Erdoğan vows to protect nation against inflation
ANKARA
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on April 6 vowed to protect the nation against rising inflation, reiterating his government’s goal to become among the 10 biggest economies of the world.
“As the Turkish economy is getting ready to become one of the world’s 10 economies, we have stated that we will not waste this opportunity with careless and thoughtless steps. We will get out of this business in a way that will not crush our citizens with inflation. We will be patient, persevere and fight together with our nation, and we will reach the result,” he said at a meeting with his party lawmakers.
Turkey’s economy, especially in terms of the regional situation, is integrated with the whole world, therefore, every development that takes place at a global level closely concerns the country, he said.
“High inflation rates and excessive prices are not solely our problem. Most of the European countries are faced with even worse situations than us, and the officials of even the most developed countries tell their citizens that their levels of welfare will fall,” Erdoğan stated.
“Nevertheless, none of them are, if not can be excuses that remove our responsibility towards our nation,” he added.
In the last months of last year, Turkey’s economy was “hit by a jolt caused by the rise in the exchange rate, which had no rational justification,” but with the measures taken by the government, markets were stabilized again as of Dec. 20, and they had overcome this problem, Erdoğan said.
Turkey has taken action to make the country one of the leading centers in the global production system, which has been restructured with the pandemic, Erdoğan said, adding, “The fact that our industry, our roads and our harbors work around the clock and that our exports continue to increase, breaking records each month, all show that we are on the right track to our goals.”
The president said that his government would never backtrack on its decision to make Turkey one of the world’s top 10 economies.
Citing the progress Turkey had made in the defense industry, Erdoğan pointed to the helicopters delivered to the Philippines recently.
“We are now capable of exporting helicopters. We have never bowed down to anyone in our anti-terror fight or cross-border operations. We have always acted in accordance with the requirements of Turkey’s interests,” he said.
