Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz participated in the Global Investment Days program hosted by the Association of International Investors (YASED) alongside Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek.

In his speech, Yılmaz emphasized that Turkey has always been an attractive country for international investors due to its strategic location, young and dynamic population, strong infrastructure, and economic potential.

Yılmaz noted that following the elections, political stability and predictability have been established, and that a predictable framework has been created through the Medium-Term Program and the 12th Development Plan prepared last year.

Stating that global foreign direct investments have not shown a very positive trend, with last year’s figure around $1.3 trillion, Yılmaz expressed that by increasing Turkey’s share in this competitive environment, the multiplier effect of global capital movements would be much greater when they rise in the future.

Highlighting that Turkey is one of the first countries that come to mind for international direct investments thanks to its geostrategic location and qualified human resources, Yılmaz stressed that under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s leadership over the past 20 years, a continuous reform agenda has prioritized meeting the different needs and expectations of investors.

Yılmaz mentioned that before 2003, only $15 billion of international direct investment was seen in the previous 30 years, meaning Turkey had only 0.2% of the global share during that period. He noted that in the 21 years since 2003, a total of $262 billion in international direct investment has entered, positioning Turkey to own nearly 1% of the global share.

Pointing out that Turkey hosted only 5,600 international capital companies in 2003, Yılmaz stated that it now accommodates over 80,000 international companies and that Turkey has transformed into an economic center where these companies’ production activities are supported by R&D centers, design teams, purchasing offices, logistics hubs, and regional management centers.

According to the work of the Presidential Investment Office, Yılmaz shared that in the last 15 years, approximately 31% of exports have been realized by international capital companies, with over 60% of this export consisting of high and medium-high technology products. He also noted that international investors accounted for 30% of private sector R&D expenditures and that these companies provide employment for 1.3 million people.

“WE CONTINUE OUR FIGHT AGAINST INFLATION DECIDEDLY”

According to a report published by Ernst & Young in recent weeks, Yılmaz indicated that Turkey ranks 4th in Europe with 375 investments attracted in 2023, while the number of announced investment projects across the continent decreased by 4%, but in Turkey, there was a 17% increase.

Stating that Turkey is a candidate to become a new global production center during a period when global supply chains are being reshaped, Yılmaz expressed their expectation for international companies to further increase their investments and reassured that they are ready to provide necessary support.

Yılmaz drew attention to rising protectionism globally and the geostrategic and geopolitical competitions between East and West, noting that this environment presents significant advantages and opportunities for Turkey in terms of global politics.

Emphasizing that Turkey’s economic size has reached $1.158 trillion, Yılmaz continued: “Our goal is to make a leap from the upper-middle-income league to the high-income countries league. We have made plans and programs for this, and together with our private sector and international capital, we believe we can achieve this by increasing our technological level and enhancing our added value, and improving the quality of our human capital, thereby exporting more to the world and increasing our competitiveness and productivity, while making our institutional structure more effective.”

Yılmaz stated that they have been ensuring a more balanced and sustainable growth of the economy through rational, predictable, and rule-based policies, saying: “There is an improvement in the composition of our growth, and at the same time, inflation has reached a peak and is now on a downward trend. We are implementing this with a holistic policy. We are decisively continuing our fight against inflation with our monetary policies, fiscal policies, and structural reforms in an integrated manner. Meanwhile, our unemployment figures remain in single digits, which is very valuable for us. Employment is not only an economic figure but also a social one.”

“WE IMPLEMENT POLICIES, PLANS, AND APPLICATIONS FOR SINGLE-DIGIT INFLATION”

Yılmaz expressed that they are working to achieve a certain level of growth simultaneously with the fight against inflation, indicating that the figures obtained in the last quarter show that these policies are working, which is achieved through a holistic approach involving monetary and fiscal policies and structural reforms.

He stated that the purpose of growing the economy is to provide a greater permanent increase in prosperity and mentioned that in the upcoming period, the primary issue and priority is to reduce inflation.

Recalling the Central Bank’s inflation forecast of 38% for the end of this year, Yılmaz said, “We have a prediction and plan for inflation to fall below 20% next year. In the following year, that is, in 2026, we believe that our country will return to single-digit inflation. We are not just believing it; we are implementing the policies, plans, and applications for this.”

Yılmaz noted that the current account deficit has decreased, reserves have increased, and risk indicators have improved, stating, “I want to emphasize that we are at the right time for investment. Those who invest in Turkey will win, and they will also contribute to Turkey’s success while benefiting themselves.”

Pointing out that they have centered the 12th Development Plan on green and digital transformation, Yılmaz emphasized that a Turkey that uses energy more efficiently and produces with lower carbon will further decrease its current account deficit and increase its competitiveness.

“WE AIM TO INCREASE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENTS”

Yılmaz indicated that creating a favorable environment for investors through various regulations is essential and mentioned that a consensus has been reached on a 57-item action plan at the Investment Environment Improvement Coordination Council (YOİKK), and these items are now being implemented, with a tight monitoring mechanism that tracks developments from all institutions every three months and reviews completion rates.

Recalling that structural reforms, which are one of the three main pillars complementing monetary and fiscal policies, form the essence of the YOİKK action plan, Yılmaz said, “We aim to increase national and international investments in qualified and high value-added areas. We aim to reduce the current account deficit and improve the quality of current account financing. We are a developing country, and of course, we are trying to increase our domestic savings rates. Our goal is not to achieve balance by reducing investments, but by increasing savings rates. We foresee developing and financing our investments in a healthier manner as a country with important goals by both raising our domestic savings rates and attracting long-term external savings to our country.”

“WE PLAN TO HOLD THE INVESTMENT ADVISORY COUNCIL MEETING IN SEPTEMBER”

Yılmaz shared that they prioritize the digitalization of public services and the reduction of bureaucratic processes, along with artificial intelligence and big data technologies, emphasizing that they have made significant decisions in the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Steering Committee, stating, “We have a strategy. We are updating this strategy. While doing so, we are working on how to use artificial intelligence more effectively across various sectors, from education to health, from energy to irrigation.”

“We will soon share our country’s new International Direct Investment Strategy with the public,” said Yılmaz, noting that the new strategy prepared by the Presidential Investment Office aims to attract investments that support sustainable digital transformation based on high added value and provide quality employment.

Vice President Yılmaz stated: “We aim to increase Turkey’s share of the global capital pie to 1.5% by 2028. We want to raise our share, which is currently around 1%, to 1.5%. In our strategy, we also focus on areas such as sustainability, digitalization, integration into global value chains, the development of our talent pool, and the effective promotion of our country’s investment environment. We will share this with the public upon completion. We are in the final stages. Additionally, we plan to hold the Investment Advisory Council Meeting in September, where we want to bring together our President with CEOs of international companies to discuss issues related to international direct investment.”


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