Türkiye plans pre-accession economic reform program for 2026–2028

By Mert Davut and Emir Yildirim

Türkiye’s Presidency of Strategy and Budget has planned a new pre-accession economic reform program for 2026–2028, outlining six structural reform measures focused on competitiveness, sustainability and resilience, and human capital and social policies.

The three-year program aims to ensure demand conditions remain compatible with inflation while accelerating policies to strengthen supply-side growth dynamics, according to the agency.

The Presidency of Strategy and Budget said the program seeks to advance Türkiye’s long-term growth potential through structural decisions that improve the quality of human capital via skills transformation programs, while supporting productive investments and encouraging capital accumulation. A key focus will be boosting total factor productivity through technological development.

Türkiye will continue to implement monetary, fiscal and revenue policies as part of its fight against inflation. Under the new strategy, the country plans to maintain a tight policy stance to balance demand conditions and sustain disinflation efforts, while also pursuing medium- and long-term structural transformation to address potential supply bottlenecks.

The agency said it aims to preserve fiscal discipline in public finances, with policies expected to contribute to price stability, improve the current account balance, promote fair income distribution, and enhance the productivity and competitiveness of the Turkish economy.

The pre-accession economic reform program will prioritize increasing technology-intensive and high value-added production to strengthen Türkiye’s position in global value chains and secure a larger share of the global export market amid rising trade uncertainties, protectionism and shifts in global supply chains.

Domestic production capacity is expected to expand through the promotion of research and development and support for the country’s innovation ecosystem. These efforts are intended to boost export products and market diversity and ensure a permanent and sustainable improvement in the current account balance.

Measures to restore and strengthen investor confidence and improve the business environment are also included. The program targets structural transformations that support productivity growth while adhering to sustainable development principles, reinforcing an innovative and technology-focused production structure, improving human capital quality, and strengthening institutional capacity.

The reform agenda identifies three main areas: competitiveness; sustainability and resilience; and human capital and social policies.

In competitiveness, planned reforms include supporting the modernization of small- and medium-sized enterprises through digital and green transformation in manufacturing, alongside measures to promote sustainable tourism and branding.

Under sustainability and resilience, the agency plans to accelerate green transformation and increase investments focused on digitalization across industries.

In the area of human capital and social policies, the program envisions updating education curricula based on skills, enhancing vocational training centers, and improving employment services in line with labor market needs.

The six structural reform measures planned for 2026-2028 are estimated to carry an additional cost of about €6.4 billion ($7.4 billion).