TURKEY: ALWAYS A FORCE TO RECKON WITH

TURKEY TO PAY OFF ITS IMF DEBTS IN 2013

TURKISH Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that TURKEY'S debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was 23.5 billion USD in 2002 due to stand-by agreements and that this debt went down to 1.7 billion USD in 2012.

TURKEY'S debt to the IMF will be paid completely by April 2013, Erdogan stressed as he addressed the participants of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on EUROPE, the MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA and CENTRAL ASIA taking place under the title "Uniting Regions in Transformation"

"I am pleased to see the WEF meeting taking place in Istanbul. I am thankful to all those who made the forum possible in Istanbul," Erdogan noted.

"I find the forum in Istanbul, with the heading "Uniting Regions in Transformation", highly well-timed and meaningful," Erdogan stated.

CURBING IN CORRUPTION, THE KEY TO SUCCESS 

Despite all difficulties and problems in a tough geography, TURKEY continues to develop with stability and democracy and protects its identity of being a secure island, Erdogan underlined and added that this kind of things are possible when corruption is curbed.

It is clear that any country which runs away from regional cooperation in the CAUCASUS, MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA and BALKANS will be deprived of not only prosperity but tranquility, stability and security as well, Erdogan stressed.

ECONOMIC FIGURES

Historically, from 2000 until 2011, TURKEY Government Debt to GDP averaged 53.1 Percent reaching an all time high of 77.9 Percent in December of 2001 and a record low of 39.4 Percent in December of 2011. Eurostat now reports that debt to GDP ratio to be the loves ever.  

In the past 10 years, the TURKISH economy grew around 5.3 percent annually. Considering the global financial crisis in the past decade, an annual growth of 5.3 percent is an important achievement.

In 2011, TURKEY was the second country in the world after CHINA with its growth figure of 8.5 percent. While TURKEY'S national income was 230 billion USD in 2002, this figure jumped to 772 billion USD in 2011. Income per capita in TURKEY went up to 10,444 USD in 2011. By the end of 2011, TURKEY'S foreign trade volume went up to 376 billion USD from 88 billion USD in 2002. TURKEY'S tourism income was recorded as 23.5 billion USD in 2011. Direct international investments in TURKEY in 2011 were worth 16 billion USD.

While TURKEY'S economic figures may have been negatively affected in 2009 due to the serious global financial crisis, economic figures in TURKEY today are better than they were prior to the crisis.

TURKEY'S 2013 GROWTH PREDICTIONS ARE POSITIVE

International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts TURKEY would grow 3.5 percent in 2013 while predictions about TURKEY'S growth rate by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), World Bank, European Commission global investment bank Goldman Sachs are 4.6 percent, 4 percent, 4.6 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively.

International establishments' highest growth predictions are being made towards CHINA. IMF predicts CHINESE growth for 2013 as 8.2, OECD as 9.3, World Bank as 8.6, EUROPEAN Commission as 8.2 percent.

On the other hand, between the country groups, the lowest growth expectation is for EUROPEAN Zone. IMF's expectation for Euro zone is 0.2, OECD's 0.9, World Bank's 0.7 and EUROPEAN Commission's 1 percent.

IMF World Economic Outlook report predicts world growth of IMF in 2013 is expected as 3.6 percent.