ISTANBUL - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that foreign investment should come to Turkey from now on. Erdogan said, ''this is a secure and fruitful country. You should not hesitate to make investments here.''
Addressing the dinner hosted by Foreign Investment Association (YASED), Erdogan said inflow of foreign capital to Turkey was as if prevented when they came to power.
Erdogan said they opened ways for this with the efforts they launched together with industrialists and businessmen, stressing that a company could be founded in Turkey from now on by passing through three stages instead of 19 separate stages.
Erdogan said foreign capital has the same rights with native investors, noting that Turkey should have a stable economic structure to meet the expectations.
Erdogan said the government exerted extreme efforts to better the economy and moreover to make it reach a stable, reliable and balanced structure. He said they accelerated Reform Program to Better Investment Atmosphere in this respect.
Erdogan said the studies would speed up inflow of capital to Turkey and increase number of foreign investments.
Erdogan said the government would do its best to overcome the points they entered deadlock, and promised the businessmen to act together with them.
Erdogan said, ''foreign capital should come to Turkey from now on. This is a secure and fruitful country. Don't hesitate to make investments in this country. I am sure that you will not regret.''
ERDOGAN SAYS THEIR AIM IS TO ENABLE A PERMANENT, STABLE AND UNRETURNABLE BETTERMENT PROCESS
Erdogan noted that negative situation caused by atmosphere of crises ended at great extend and markets started to revive.
The economic program when they unveiled after they had come to power foresaw decrease of public deficits, reduction of high public debt stock and preparation of an appropriate situation for investments, production and employment, Erdogan stated.
Erdogan said that the government had recorded significant progress in reaching those targets in a short time like a year.
The growth rate increased by 5.4 percent in the first half of 2003, Erdogan pointed out.
Erdogan said that inflation in wholesale prices index (WPI) was 13.2 percent and in consumer prices index (CPI) was 17.3 percent in the first 11 months of 2003.
''It seems that we will easily reach our year-end inflation target of 20 percent. We predict that we will record an increase around 25 billion U.S. dollars in our foreign trade volume when compared with 2002 and guess that we will exceed 110 billion U.S. dollars,'' Erdogan noted.
Erdogan stated that another result of determined and disciplined financial policies was tendency of decrease in nominal interest rates.
''This situation is the clear evidence that our economy has a stable and sustainable development. We determinedly continue our structural reforms which are of critical importance in creation of this situation. Structural reforms are sine qua non for a robust and stable economic structure. We will be in an effort to make important structural reforms in taxes, State Economic Enterprises (SEEs) and banking in coming days. Our aim is to enable a permanent, stable and unreturnable betterment process in Turkey. Our route is prosperity and happiness of our people,'' Erdogan said.
Erdogan noted that the best remedy for countries who had deficiencies in advanced technology and capital was to increase and accelerate inflow of foreign capital, adding that it could be achieved by forming the best economic ground and the most appropriate conditions for investments.
(BRC-AY) 07.12.2003