Turkish economy resilient, dynamic: EBRD head

LONDON

The private sector in Turkey is extremely dynamic, it has a very broad and strong consumer base and rapid re-growth capacity, increasing the importance of the country for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), according to Odile Renaud-Basso, the president of the bank.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Renaud-Basso said she would meet with Turkish authorities and businesspeople via videoconference.

“In the past, the Turkish economy has been an extremely resilient economy,” she said, adding that the bank would continue investing in the country.

“Turkey is the country where we have the biggest activity,” she said.

The EBRD is planning to invest 1 billion to 1.5 billion euros in projects across Turkey this year, according to Renaud-Basso’s remarks.

The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Turkey and has invested more than 13 billion euros in the country through 337 projects to date, with 96 percent of these projects in the private sector.

In 2020, the bank responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by stepping up its financing in the country to 1.7 billion euros from 1 billion euros in 35 projects in 2019.

Renaud-Basso said the Turkish economy would recover steadily.

“Turkey has the capacity to grow again; this is what happened in the 2008 crisis, for example,” she said.

The EBRD knows the Turkish markets and private sector “very well,” she said on Twitter.

“And its economy is by far the largest we invest in. We will mobilize all our tools to help its rebound from COVID-19,” she added.

The EBRD is owned by 69 countries from five continents, as well as the European Union and the European Investment Bank. The United States, Germany, France, Italy and Russia are the largest shareholders.