Turkey's 2017 growth to beat OECD forecast: Deputy PM

By Murat Unlu

PARIS (AA) - Turkey's growth in 2017 will beat the forecast of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Wednesday.

"The organization’s growth forecast for Turkey is 3.4 percent for this year. Turkey will probably grow nearly 4.5 percent this year," Simsek said.

Simsek added that if the country implements reforms, economic growth will be stronger.

"In the medium term, we foresee growth of 5 percent or more with reforms. So the OECD will have to revise its forecasts upwards again," he predicted.

Simsek said all international institutions have upgraded their Turkey forecasts over the last few months.

The OECD raised Turkey’s growth forecast for the year to 3.4 percent, up from 3.3 percent.

Earlier this week, the World Bank also edged up Turkey's 2017 growth forecast from 3 percent to 3.5 percent.

"The reason is that stability has been consolidated and uncertainty reduced in Turkey. Reforms are on our agenda. We’ve started pushing for strong investment, exports, and employment. We gave strong support through a credit guarantee fund, employment, and export incentives," Simsek said.

Inviting investors to Turkey, Simsek underlined that Turkey is still a "land of opportunity," and added:

"Turkey is the world’s 13th-largest economy with its purchasing power parity and one of Europe’s crucial growth engines. For this reason, let's come and invest in Turkey and be a shareholder in the country's development and growth."