Turkey’s 2017 growth to beat OECD forecast: Deputy PM

PARIS - Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s growth in 2017 will beat the forecast of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek said on June 7.“The organization’s growth forecast for Turkey is 3.4 percent for this year. Turkey will probably grow nearly 4.5 percent this year,” Şimşek said.Şimşek added that if the country implements reforms, economic growth will be stronger.“In the medium term, we foresee growth of 5 percent or more with reforms. So the OECD will have to revise its forecasts upwards again,” he added.He said all international institutions have upgraded their Turkey forecasts over the last few months.The OECD raised Turkey’s growth forecast for the year to 3.4 percent, up from 3.3 percent.Earlier this week, the World Bank also edged up Turkey’s 2017 growth forecast from 3 percent to 3.5 percent.“The reason is that stability has been consolidated and uncertainty reduced in Turkey. Reforms are on our agenda. We’ve started pushing for strong investment, exports and employment. We gave strong support through a credit guarantee fund, employment and export incentives,” Şimşek said.Inviting investors to Turkey, Şimşek underlined that Turkey is still a “land of opportunity.”“Turkey is the world’s 13th largest economy with its purchasing power parity and one of Europe’s crucial growth engines. For this reason, let’s come and invest in Turkey and be a shareholder in the country’s development and growth,” he said.