Erdogan calls Turkey “rising star” of XXI century due to double-digit GDP growth
Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: Murat Cet Nmuhurdar / Reuters
Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described Turkey as a rising star of the 21st century. He said this, speaking to members of the ruling party in the province of Gaziantep, RIA Novosti reports.
According to him, thanks to the thoughtful policy of the government, Turkey has become one of two countries whose economic growth in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic remained positive. The head of state stressed that Ankara is demonstrating a double-digit GDP growth rate this year.
In addition, the president noted that when the Justice and Development Party (AKP) headed by him came to power, the reserves of the country's Central Bank were only $ 27.5 billion, and the debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was $ 23.5 billion. Now we are talking about 120 billion dollars of reserves of the Central Bank and the complete absence of debt to the IMF, the head of state added.
Earlier, the Turkish Ministry of Finance has developed an ambitious but risky plan to “save the lira”. To launch it, the authorities set a “red line” – an “absurd” threshold of 18 lira per dollar, four sources told the agency. Officials believe that devaluation of the Turkish currency above this level will result in damage to the economy, which is “difficult to fix.” Experts say the plan is risky because it could lead to a surge in inflation and serious costs.
