The new Cabinet, which was announced by Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, has rolled up its sleeves to prepare the first working document for the economy. Development Minister Lütfi Elvan told the Sabah newspaper that the ministry has initiated preparations for key policy documents such as the 2018-2020 Medium Term Program, the 2018 Annual Program and 2018 Investment Program. Elvan also said that they will focus on preparations for the 11th Development Plan, which will cover 2019 to 2023 in the second half of the year. "The policies we will issue in the fields of education and employment will form the basis of our growth strategy," he added.
The government has begun working on the 2018 development and investment programs. Noting that since the 11th Five-Year Development Plan covers 2019 to 2023, the 2023 targets and plan embodies the same period, Elvan said: "Our growth strategy, which will be formed on the plans' targets, will also reveal the roadmap that will bring us closer to our 2023 goals."
Elvan said that education and employment will be considered top priorities in the 2018 investment and development plans, adding that the policies to be issued for education and employment for the transformation and development of human capital, which is regarded as the main element of development, strengthening the research and development infrastructure, technological transformation in industrial and agricultural production, productivity increases, and export-oriented production diversification will form the basis of the growth.
Elvan said that they aim to develop suggestions by discussing topics on various sectors and themes with 75 specialization commissions and at working group meetings in order to ensure the preparation of the development plan in a participatory manner.
Explaining that they plan to organize participatory meetings that will bring together political institutions, public institutions, the private sector, the academic community, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks and media representatives alongside specialization commissions as in past planning periods, Elvan said: "Keeping macroeconomic stability and fiscal discipline, maintaining growth consistently and creating employment in the short term will continue to be our main agenda items in the upcoming period, while creating medium- and long-term development goals."