Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan plans to combine economic management under one ministry if he is re-elected in an upcoming presidential election on June 24, officials who wished to remain anonymous told Reuters.
The move is intended to improve collaboration between the Treasury and Finance Ministry, while the Development Ministry, the Customs and Trade Ministry, parts of the Economy Ministry and the tourism division of the Culture and Tourism Ministry will also be folded into the new ministry.
Reuters’ source said the new configuration would simplify dealings with government bodies, including applications for business investment in Turkey.
“Under the current system, you apply to a ministry for incentives and another ministry to follow up with the incentive, another ministry for the payment of the incentive and finally another ministry for the inspection,” the source said.
The new president of Turkey will gain sweeping executive powers approved in a referendum last year that changed the system of governance in the country from parliamentary to presidential. If re-elected, Erdoğan aims to reduce the number of ministries under current 21, the Milliyet daily reported on May 23.
The post of prime minister will be abolished in the new system and the position of vice president will be established.