Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat announced that his country became the fastest growing economy among the G20 and OECD countries during the third quarter of this year. For his part, Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek warned that this growth will slow down in the coming period.
Turkey's economy grew 5.9% in the third quarter of 2023, official data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed, beating expectations driven by household spending, but activity is expected to slow by the end of the year after monetary tightening cooled demand.
In a blog post on the X website, Polat explained that the Turkish economy has maintained its high growth performance for 13 consecutive quarters, with the GDP rising by 5.9% during the mentioned period.
He said the economy achieved a growth of 4.7% in the first nine months of this year.
He explained that despite the earthquake that struck the southeast of the country last February, and weak external demand, Türkiye's exports of goods and services increased by 1.1%.
He added that Ankara aims, through policies aimed at increasing investment, production and exports, to enhance overall financial stability by ensuring a permanent improvement in the current account in the coming period on the one hand, and continuing sustainable high growth on the other hand.
For his part, Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek warned that the data released showing the Turkish economy growing by 5.9% in the third quarter is more than expected and encouraging, but this growth will slow down in the coming period, according to what he told the official TRT channel.
"But what is important here is to increase the quality of growth," he added, noting that directing resources to effective areas and increasing efficiency will be key drivers of growth.
He added that inward capital flows are strengthening and are expected to increase from the second half of 2024 onwards, and that there is interest in investment from the Gulf countries.
In the context of efforts to revive the economy, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed last September the features of the medium-term economic program that his government had prepared for the coming period, as it seeks to draw a new roadmap that will enhance development and economic stability in the country.
Erdogan said that his country aims, within 3 years, to achieve balance through economic growth, led by private sector investments with high added value by an average of 4.5%, and stressed that exports of goods and services will rise to historic levels.
Despite the program's goals that represent Turkey's aspirations and efforts to combat inflation, achieve economic growth, create new job opportunities, attract investments, and improve income distribution, the path to achieving this is hindered by many challenges, according to economic experts.
