Turkey’s new Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak has underlined that it is improper to speculate on the central bank’s independence and decision-making mechanisms, adding that in the new term it will be more “effective,” the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Thursday.
“A central bank more effective than ever will be among our main targets in the new era,” Albayrak told Anadolu.
“In the new era we will support the central bank pursuing a more predictable, straightforward and decisive monetary policy,” said Albayrak.
He said the amount and variety of foreign resources will be boosted while the ministry cooperates with international financial actors and stakeholders.
“Our policies will be determined within the scope of a sustainable and consistent growth target by prioritizing budget discipline, structural reforms and single-digit inflation,” Albayrak said.
Albayrak added that their main priority would be reducing inflation with the help of monetary and fiscal policies.
“We will take necessary steps to first bring down inflation to single digits and then reach the country’s targets.”
Consumer prices in Turkey rose 15.39 percent in June compared to the same month last year, the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) announced on July 3.
As noted in the country’s medium-term program (MTP) introduced last September, inflation is targeted to drop to 5 percent by the end of 2020.
Albayrak said the ministry would implement effective fiscal policies that provide budget balance in line with the MTP targets while making no concessions from fiscal discipline.