'Turkey to join world's top 10 economies'

BAYBURT, Turkey

Turkey is set to join the world's top 10 economies by 2030-2050, according to several studies, the head of Turkey's Strategy and Budget Directorate said on Wednesday.

"Turkey's potential is bigger than other countries' growth potential," Naci Agbal told a conference at Bayburt University in northeastern Turkey.

From 2001 to 2018, Turkey climbed up the ladder from number 23 to 17 in terms of gross domestic product, and from number 18 to 13 in purchasing power parity, he reminded.

Turkey's exports also soared from $36 billion in 2002 to $168 billion in 2018, he added.

Turkey's geographical position is a huge opportunity for the country, he stressed, as it lies in close proximity to Africa, the Gulf countries, the Central Asian Turkic republics, Russia, and Europe.

"The world economic power is moving from the west to the east and from the north to the south," he said.

He added that the U.S. share of the world economy would drop sharply by 2050-2100 while the far East and Africa would take a larger share.

"Africa, which has a young population, will become a producer continent and will attract more investment," he asserted.

Writing by Gokhan Ergocun