ISTANBUL (AA) - ''This year's inflation target is 8 percent. However, markets expect that it would be 7.6 percent,'' Turkish State Minister Ali Babacan stressed on Monday.
Delivering a speech at an international conference on ''Financial Stability and Implications of Basel II'' in Istanbul, Babacan said that Turkey had passed through a very important transformation process in the recent years. He added that this process should be followed closely.
Stressing that political reforms were enacted within the scope of the Copenhagen criteria, Babacan noted that Turkey's accession to the European Union (EU) was very important in terms of stability and security of EU.
''Political stability is a sine qua non of economic stability. We consider that the stability should be maintained. We attach great importance to EU process, which will be the guarantee of long-term political stability in Turkey,'' Babacan indicated.
''The ratio of budget deficit to GNP (gross national product) is expected to be around 4 percent. It will be lower than 3 percent next year. Turkey will fulfil the first of the Maastricht criteria next year,'' he stated.
(E֭MS)
2005-05-16