Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan opened the third session of Türkiye's Investment Advisory Council in Istanbul on Thursday, expressing confidence in the country's ability to weather recent economic turbulence.
Erdoğan credited the council's recommendations with helping boost both domestic and foreign investment over the preceding years. He noted that his government launched a comprehensive reform agenda roughly three and a half years ago, and pointed to political and economic stability as among its chief accomplishments.
On fiscal matters, the prime minister said the privatization drive had generated $25 billion in revenues, while the corporate tax rate had been cut from 30 percent to 20 percent. Legislation covering social security, general health insurance, and retirement had also been passed, he said.
Foreign direct investment rose sharply on his government's watch, climbing from $1 billion in 2003 to a record $9.7 billion in 2005. Erdoğan said Türkiye would adhere to its monetary policy commitments as outlined in the Ninth Development Plan, which covers the period 2007 to 2013, and pledged to see the economic transformation program through to completion.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in June 2006, in its own words.