Mehmet Şimşek: The defense industry needs additional resources.

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The Minister of Treasury and Finance, Mehmet Şimşek, made important statements regarding the economic agenda. Speaking live on NTV, Şimşek noted that inflation continues to slow down within the targeted framework. Subject

THE INCREASE IN HOUSING RENTS HAS ALSO PUSHED INFLATION UP

Mehmet Şimşek stated that after the removal of the 25% upper limit on housing and workplace rents in July, there has been a 120% increase in renewed lease agreements: "There is a 120% increase in rents. The high inflation has affected the renewed lease agreements. Past inflation is taken as a basis. These will be out of the equation and the base after a year. An increase in housing supply will affect rent inflation," he said.

"IF INFLATION FALLS, PRICES MAY NOT FALL"

Mehmet Şimşek emphasized that a decrease in inflation does not mean a decrease in prices: "A decrease in inflation does not mean a decrease in prices. A decrease in inflation means a slowdown in the rate of price increases. Inflation will continue to decrease," he stated.

Green transformation is the most important priority. There is incredible interest in green transformation in the Gulf. The appetite is very large. Recently, under the leadership of our President, an investment advisory meeting was held, and those who attended showed tremendous interest in green transformation.

WILL SERVICE INFLATION FALL?

"Annual inflation for basic goods has fallen to 28%. Inflation will continue to decrease. Service inflation has started to decline, but there is rigidity in the world. Service inflation will respond strongly to income policies over time. As inflation begins to decrease, we will break the rigidity in the upcoming period. Time is needed; we will implement the policy with patience."

DID THE GULF TOUR MEET EXPECTATIONS?

"I visited Qatar and Kuwait. I am the Co-Chairman of the Joint Economic Commission of both countries. A summit will be held with Qatar in the near future. The Gulf holds serious opportunities for us. It especially offers very important opportunities in tourism. We are a country that has succeeded in sectoral diversity. Procurement from nearby countries is now an important concept. Our principle in the economy is now complementarity. I believe that as investors' concerns decrease, there is a great potential. We met with nearly 250 leading company executives."

INVESTOR MEETINGS ABROAD

Next week, we will meet with important banks in the USA. Investment banks are holding meetings on the margins of the IMF meetings. The G20 we will attend will be a long meeting. We will have a meeting with the US Treasury Secretary. We will meet with multilateral international banks.

WILL THE CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT CONTINUE TO DECREASE?

The current account deficit is Turkey's Achilles' heel. The current account deficit was very high last May. The current account deficit has almost fallen below 1%. If there were no regional conflicts, the current account deficit would be stable. Our main projections regarding the current account deficit are going through structural transformation.

We have taken very important steps. We have identified 284 products. We want to attract investments from the world and Turkey to these products with credit. Under 8 main headings, 30 products will receive support of 30 billion dollars by 2030. Currently, the priority is green transformation. Support will be provided for the production of high-tech products. These will permanently reduce the current account deficit. We are at an important threshold regarding the current account deficit. With the implementation of these projects, we will be talking about a current account surplus."

STEPS TO COMBAT INFLATION

Annual inflation for basic goods has fallen to 28%. Inflation will continue to decrease. Service inflation has started to decline, but there is rigidity in the world. When the 25% upper limit on rent increases was lifted, there was an increase of nearly 120% in renewed lease agreements. Service inflation will respond strongly to income policies over time. As inflation begins to decrease, we will break the rigidity in the upcoming period. Reducing inflation is not easy.

There are limiting factors in fiscal policy, such as the earthquake and EYT, yet a decrease in inflation has begun. A decrease in inflation means a slowdown in price increases. We will implement this program. This program is yielding results. There is an improvement in inflation expectations."

VEHICLE SALES IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR WILL BEGIN

"There is a 15% decrease in vehicle rentals in the public sector. Soon, the privatization administration will start selling vehicles."

The Currency Protected Deposit account has been continuously decreasing for 59 weeks and has now fallen below 44 billion dollars.

Our credit rating has been increased 5 times within a year. The Central Bank's net reserve increase is 100 billion dollars.