The Rumi Forum hosted Hon. Mehmet Simsek, Turkish Minister of State for Economic Affairs. Hon. Simsek discussed the `Global Financial Crisis and the Turkish Economy`.
Turkiye’s State Minister Mehmet Simsek arrived in the US capital for the IMF-World Bank spring meetings this week and gave a talk in the ”Rumi Forum” before the conference about the “global economic crisis and Turkiye’s response.” Simsek said he was hopeful about a relief coming soon and discussed the recent deal with IMF for a 3-year stand-by program. He strongly emphasized that Turkiye is taking measures against the global crisis and showing progress on this issue, however economic recovery could not be achieved by Turkiye’s effort alone, rather a global response to the crisis was required. Even though Turkiye has a strong banking and financial structure, he said “Turkiye still needs external capital to grow as in the case for all emerging markets. Simsek also said the IMF stand-by program is still in the initial phases however definitive agreement on a date and the amount of financial assistance cannot yet be announced due to the fact the negotiations depend on the issues important to both sides. As far as the Turkiye’s economic recovery, Simsek said the upturn does not only depend on internal measures but also external developments, especially those that relate to the U.S. banking system. Simsek is in DC to participate in the Europe and Central Asia Region World Bank meeting, as well as a G20 ministerial meeting.
