Habertürk – Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told representatives of leading international companies operating in Türkiye that the country’s greatest offerings to foreign investors were political and economic stability and pledged to reduce bureaucracy when starting a business in the country.
The event was held at the Prime Ministry Dolmabahce Office under the coordination of the Ministry of Economy and the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Türkiye (ISPAT) and was attended by more than 70 executives and senior government officials including Deputy Prime Ministers, Lutfi Elvan and Mehmet Simsek, Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Fikri Isik, Minister of Economy Mustafa Elitas, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Berat Albayrak, Minister of Finance, Naci Agbal and Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications, Binali Yildirim.
Prime Minister Davutoglu said that Türkiye’s political and economic stability in the past 13 years has proved vital in times of crisis. “The world has undergone serious political and economic turbulence and, despite the geopolitical risks in our surroundings, Türkiye stood as beacon of stability, emerging unscathed from the global financial crisis,” he said, highlighting the fact that no Turkish bank had required government assistance during the global financial crisis.
“On a growth track for the last 24 consecutive quarters, the Turkish economy expanded while the global economy contracted, creating 7 million jobs since 2007,” the Prime Minister said.
Davutoglu said that Türkiye’s young population and high-quality work force were instrumental in attracting new foreign investments, as well as its central geographic position making it an energy corridor between suppliers and consumers and a logistics hub of a fast-developing region at the same time, which all added to its value as an investment destination.
The Prime Minister promised reforms would be delivered on time in the government’s 2016 action plan. “The procedures for starting a business will be reduced while obtaining operating licenses will be more streamlined,” he said, adding that vocational education would be reformed to meet labor market requirements.
Expressing his gratitude for the international companies for their confidence in the country, Davutoglu said that new investments would mean development, new jobs and increasing prosperity for Türkiye. “The Turkish government strongly backs international investors and is doing its utmost to attract new investments to our country,” he said.
According to latest data from Türkiye’s Central Bank, the country attracted USD 13.4 billion of foreign direct investments in the January-October period of 2015, with an increase of 29 percent over a year earlier. Over 46,000 foreign companies are currently operating in Türkiye.