The chairperson of one of the leading business conglomerates in Turkey, Güler Sabancı, has said she has full faith in Turkey’s Finance and Treasury Minister Berat Albayrak, who is also the son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and that he will lead a successful transformation in the Turkish economy.
Sabancı’s remarks came on Friday following a meeting held by Albayrak at Dolmabahçe Palace in İstanbul to announce the policies Turkey would adopt for the new term, called the “New Economy Approach,” promising “decisive and strong steps.” The meeting was attended by prominent businesspeople, chairs of business associations and bank managers
Albayrak was appointed finance and treasury minister by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the new cabinet formed following the June 24 general and presidential elections. He served as energy minister in the previous cabinet.
“We know the esteemed minister from his time as energy minister. He is a person who does what he says. He served successfully as energy minister. Today, he gave us the outline of the new term, the term of the transformation and what will be done in the middle and long run. I believe we will have more information about the details … in September. However, as far as I have heard and because I know our minister’s history, I have full faith that the initial steps of the middle and long-term [economic] plan will be implemented one by one and that our country will get the transformation it deserves,” Sabancı said in an interview with Bloomberg HT TV.
The businesswoman’s remarks came at a time when the Turkish lira plunged to 6.82 against the US dollar on Friday as worries about President Erdoğan’s influence over monetary policy and worsening US relations snowballed into a market panic that also hit shares of European banks.
The currency has fallen more than 35 percent this year after losing nearly a quarter of its value in 2017.
As of 2014 Sabancı was listed as the 60th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes. In October 2013, she was second on Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business outside the United States.