2021 Economic Coordination Board Meeting Held

Economy The first meeting of the Economic Coordination Council in 2021 is being held at the Presidential Complex under the chairmanship of Vice President Fuat Oktay. Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Oktay stated that tight inter-institutional coordination in economic policies created under the vision and leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is essential for a stronger economy and one more resilient to all developments, including the pandemic. Oktay noted that in June of this year, the 'Economic Coordination Council' was established as part of the structural reform agenda in the economy, and said, "Through the Council's work, Turkey's economy will be assessed on global economy, economic stability and development issues, policy analyses will be conducted and inter-institutional coordination will be strengthened." Oktay noted that 2020 was a year in which the entire world experienced pandemic-related uncertainties and serious economic setbacks, and said, "With timely and effective measures we took against the Covid-19 pandemic, Turkey's economy posted strong growth of 7 percent in the first quarter of 2021. God willing, our second quarter growth figures will be well above this. Our exports, which have been setting records in 2021, exceeded USD 200 billion on an annual basis in July. There are very strong indicators that our exports will exceed USD 200 billion by the end of 2021. Our target is to reach exports of around USD 210 billion by year-end. As a result of measures we have taken on both the current account deficit and inflation, we expect to see positive developments in the second half of the year. In today's meeting, we will address the current state of our economy in detail and accelerate our work to strengthen it further," he said.

We Plan to Release the Medium-Term Programme in the First Half of September

Oktay said in the meeting that they will evaluate with all council members both the steps that need to be taken rapidly in the short term and the policies that need to be implemented in the medium and long term, and said, "Another important item on our agenda will be the Medium-Term Programme, our economy's new three-year roadmap. We are continuing preparations of the Medium-Term Programme in alignment with our development targets, presenting economic and social policies that will increase the welfare of our people and the allocation of resources for these policies. We have combined the Medium-Term Programme and Medium-Term Fiscal Plan as a single document under the Medium-Term Programme framework. In this meeting, we will discuss with our council members both the initial macro projections for the upcoming period and the new roadmap for our economy. In line with the approval of our President, we plan to release our Medium-Term Programme covering the 2022-2024 period in the first half of September," he said. Vice President Oktay noted that the Economic Reforms Action Plan, which includes steps toward establishing a sustainable, strong and quality growth process, is being rapidly implemented with all stakeholders, and said, "Today we will also be making assessments aimed at increasing the effectiveness of both the legislative and implementation processes of these reforms. While closely monitoring developments in the economy, under the leadership of our President, we will continue to rapidly and effectively implement policies, strategies and reforms that will further strengthen our economy structurally," he said. The meeting was attended by Council Members Finance Minister Lütfi Elvan, Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Bilgin, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez, Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli, Trade Minister Mehmet Muş, Strategy and Budget Chair İbrahim Şener, and as guests, Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey Governor Şahap Kavcıoğlu and Turkish Statistical Institute President Sait Erdal Dinçer. Source