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Turkiye's New Finance Minister Says Seeks to Ensure Macro-Financial Stability

ISTANBUL (Sputnik) - Turkiye's newly appointed Finance and Treasury Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Sunday that he would seek to bring macro-financial stability to the country's economy and reduce inflation during his tenure.
Sputnik
Simsek took over as finance minister from Nureddin Nebati on Sunday.
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"In the midst of global challenges and increasing geopolitical frictions, we will prioritize strengthening macro-financial stability along with strengthening quality and capacity ... Our main goals are, without wasting time, to ensure price stability [and] to bring inflation down to single digits in the medium term," Simsek was quoted as saying by the Turkish newspaper.
The key to Turkiye's prosperity is a predictable, rule-based economy, the minister said.
"The main goal of our government will be to improve social welfare. In the coming period, we will use the fundamental principles of transparency, consistency, predictability and adherence to international norms to achieve this goal. Turkiye has no choice but to return to the path of reason," Simsek said.
The minister added that his office will support Turkiye's central bank in combating inflation.
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Turkish media describe Simsek as one of the country's most professional economists. After the reelection of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the Turkish lira continued the years-long trend of dropping against the dollar and is currently trading at around 21.
For years now, Turkiye has been struggling with high inflation. In April, it was 43.68% year-on-year, down from 50.5% compared to the previous month, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (Turkstat). At the same time, the independent Inflation Research Group said inflation in Turkiye in April was 105.19%. The Bank of Turkiye forecast inflation in the country would be 22.3% by the end of the year.
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