State Minister Dervis Addresses A.T.C. Conference

WASHINGTON D.C., March 19 (A.A) - State Minister Kemal Dervis Tuesday gave important messages in his speech at the 21st annual conference of the American-Turkish Council (ATC) in Washington D.C.
Dervis, who addressed the lunch given by the ATC, said, ''first of all, I have a good news, then I have a small warning, and later I again have good news for long term.'' As the good news, Dervis said economic crisis was over after the past 12 months.
Dervis said, ''It was a very bad crisis, but it is over now. We have left the worst behind. We see that inflation is decreasing.''
Pointing out that everybody in Turkey was focused on growth at the time being, Dervis said reducing inflation was very important. ''Economic growth is of course important, but it should be sustainable. Reaching the inflation targets this year and next year is as important as growth targets. We should fulfill those two together. We should overcome the chronic inflation. Only then we will get rid of macro-economic instability.''
''Everything goes on the right path,'' pointed out Dervis, noting that, ''there are very much developments in macro-economy, but structural policies, micro-economy and coordination between institutions and ministries are also important.''
Dervis said, ''rules of the game are changing. Some specific decisions taken by some ministries are sometimes not in harmony with the others. This stems from failure to understand competitive market. Democracy is the basis of policy. Politicians in economies which are based on markets gradually learned not to intervene the economy. Only that time market operates. We experienced such a problem in the past ten years in Turkey. Politics should withdraw from economy to some extend.''
Dervis said the state should play the role of an independent regulator and create investment atmosphere.
Pointing out that Turkey was not any more like it had been two years ago, and that Central Bank acted independently, Dervis said independence of Council of Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) was also very important. Dervis said the same thing was valid in energy and agriculture sector, noting that, ''the state regulates, but it does not intervene. All those will take time. We should be patient.''
Dervis stated that any probable political discussions or incidents like elections that may erupt in the coming few years would not be able to shake the economic situation any more, noting that, ''fundamental principles of the game are set up. Public backs economic reforms. This is something very critical. I don't say everybody supports, but there is a support to a great extend particularly coming from young people.''
Dervis pointed out the possibility of Turkey's meeting some uncertainities within the coming 2-3 years, which he mentioned as the ''warning note''. Dervis said, ''however, I belive that Turkey will find the way to get rid of this. Politicians will deal with the politics, they will not intervene in economy.''
Pointing out that foreign investment will play the role of engine in Turkey's growth, Dervis said, ''every year, around 6-7 billion U.S. dollars should reach to Turkey from foreign investments. Think that this rate reached 8-10 billion U.S. dollars. Then, Turkey's performance will be excellent. Direct investment is very important.''
Dervis said he expected Turkey to reach 6-7 percent growth.
One of the important messages which Dervis conveyed during the conference was the issue of citizenship. Dervis said the United States and Turkey have similarities stemming from the past with their multi-ethnical origins.
Dervis said, ''I would like to recall a statement of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, 'Everybody saying that I am Turkish is a Turk''. Dervis said citizenship was an identity, noting that Turkey was sometimes critized wrongly because of this understanding.
Pointing out that nobody was exposed to discrimination in Turkey because of religion, ethnical origin or race, Dervis stressed that the citizens have the unitary state understanding. Dervis said giving previliges to some groups could give damage to this unity, stressing that understanding of citizenship was in harmony with the modern rules. ''Our friends in the European Union (EU) and the United States should appreciate our understanding. This is a very important point.''
Pointing out that the world went toward globalization as historian Samuel Huntington stated, Dervis pointed out the difficulties in the future.
Dervis said Turkey would be a part of Europe within this framework, adding that Turkey was not in a position to make a choice between Europe and the United States. Dervis said, ''I don't see any conflict between these two. Turkey would both be European and close to the United States, to the Moslem world, and to Israel.''
Dervis said no country will exist by itself without being a government that is open to globalization, adding that fight against terrorism was important in this respect.
Dervis stressed that human rights and freedoms were important for Turkey as much as they are important for the United States.