Turkey's newly appointed Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Sunday that the country has no choice but to return to "rational ground" to ensure predictability in the economy.
President Tayyip Erdogan named Simsek to his cabinet on Saturday to tackle Turkey's cost-of-living crisis and other strains, in a clear sign that his newly elected government would return to more orthodox economic policies.
In a handover ceremony, Simsek said the main goal of the new government will be to increase social welfare.
"Transparency, consistency, predictability and compliance with international norms will be our basic principles in achieving this goal," Simsek said.
"Turkey has no other choice than to return to a rational ground. A rules-based, predictable Turkish economy will be the key to achieving the desired prosperity."
Macro-financial stability in an environment of increasing global challenges and geopolitical tensions will be a priority, he said.
"Establishing fiscal discipline and ensuring price stability for sustainable high growth will be our main goals," he said.
Simsek, who was highly regarded by financial markets when he served as finance minister and then as deputy prime minister between 2009 and 2018, said that lowering Turkey's soaring inflation to single digits will be another priority.
"It is vital for our country to reduce inflation to single digits again in the medium term, to increase predictability in all areas, and to speed up the structural transformation which will reduce the current account deficit," he said.
Fiscal policies and structural reforms will support Turkey's central bank to help lowering inflation, Simsek also said.
(Reuters)