No change to medium-term goals, says Turkey’s deputy PM

ANKARA

Turkey’s government does not plan to change its medium-term economic program, Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said on Friday.

Speaking on a private television channel, Canikli said the government did not envisage a revision in medium-term plans despite the economy seeing some economic volatility following the July 15 coup.

“As of now we don’t [envisage] a revision in macro-economic targets, including growth and inflation, as we already see better-than-forecast macro-economic values [so far this year].

“Also, we expect interest rates to gradually drop in the coming days despite a upside fluctuation after the coup bid,” Canikli added.

Referring to the relatively low volatility of markets and the uninterrupted functioning of financial markets in the wake of the coup bid, Canikli said the event showed the resilience of the Turkish economy.

“If such a dangerous threat took place in an another country, believe me, most probably markets would still be closed and stock exchanges suspended,” Canikli said.

“Markets were affected at a minimal level. The Turkish lira’s depreciation is around 4 to 5 percent against the U.S. dollar. Losses on the stock exchange are around 11-12 percent. You can even consider these losses similar to fluctuations seen in normal times,” he added.

Answering speculation that the assets of people who took part in the coup bid will be confiscated, Canikli said that there would not be any measures taken other than those already set in Turkish law.

“Whatever the penalty of those deeds [coup bid] at the time of this uprising, they [existing penalties] will be imposed. Other than that, absolutely there cannot be a new penalty, new punishment. It would be contrary to the universal principles of law,” he said.