Turkey aims to hit $182B in exports in 2019

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey eyes $182B export target in 2019, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

Addressing the 4th Commercial Counsellors Conference, Erdogan said: "We target an export figure of $182 billion in 2019 and $500 billion in 2023,"

Turkey has broken "historic records" for 17 years in almost every area, the president told the meeting at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara.

Erdogan said his government aims to transform Turkey into an economy that records foreign trade surplus.

"We are determined to catch an economic growth above 5% again in 2021," he said.

Turkey aims to reach economic growth of 2.3% this year, 3.5% in 2020, and 5% by 2021 under its new economic program announced last September.

“In 2019, I believe that we will receive 50 million tourists in Turkey,” the president also said.