Turkish economy minister hopes growth will reach 5 pct again

Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci referred to Turkey as the land of opportunities and expressed his hopes that growth in Turkey will once again reach 5 percent as well as recover and progress.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Zeybekci said Turkey remains a reliable country despite the clashes and problems in Russia, Ukraine, Syria and Iraq. He also underlined the fact that despite having undergone four elections within one-and-a-half years, the economy has continued to grow, even experiencing a current account surplus in August and September. "In 2014 and the first nine months of 2015, Turkey's current account deficit decreased by almost 50 percent. We are the seventh fastest-growing country in the world. We're one of the three countries that improved their current account deficit at this rate," Zeybekci added.

While many credit rating agencies' outlooks on the global and local economies is negative, Turkey continues to be described as an investible country and remains a safe harbor for investments, according to Zeybekci. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into Turkey exceeded 2014's total during the first nine months of 2015. The country received $12.6 billion in FDI in the January-September period, up 32 percent from a year earlier. According to data from the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT), $791 million in FDI has been channeled into the country in September, bringing the January-September total to $12.6 billion.

Zeybekci highlighted that while within the last two years consumption and investments have been delayed while growth and employment rates staggered, Turkey remained stable. Furthermore, he stressed that a growth rate of 5 percent in 2016 would create employment opportunities for around 1.6 million to 1.7 million people, see an increase in exports by around 10 percent and increase the contribution of exports to growth.