Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz on Tuesday underscored the critical importance of combating inflation to ensure economic predictability, reaffirming optimism about a "relatively better" period ahead.
"While fighting inflation, you may face some temporary difficulties, but without reducing inflation, you cannot achieve predictability," Yılmaz told an international trade fair organized by the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Association (MÜSIAD).
The government has pledged to cool inflation, change the composition of economic growth and attain sustainable levels.
Tight monetary policy, fiscal measures and base effects brought annual inflation down to 48.58% in October from a peak of 75.45% in May.
The country's central bank earlier this month raised its year-end inflation forecasts for this year and next to 44% and 21%, respectively. It previously forecast year-end inflation of 38% in 2024 and 14% next year.
The government anticipates end-2024 and end-2025 inflation of 41.5% and 17.5%, respectively.
Yılmaz said monetary policy is "part of the picture" and stressed despite last year's devastating earthquakes, "our fiscal policy is being managed with great care."
He noted that the upcoming period can be characterized as one where “conditions are expected to improve relatively.”
“Our primary goal is to permanently reduce inflation to single digits, ensure price stability and foster growth in a stable environment,” he noted.
He expressed the determination to reduce inflation, which he says is the core of the government’s medium-term economic road map, and spread the benefits of growth to all segments of society.
"Inflation has proven to have harmful effects on growth and income distribution both in our country and globally," Yılmaz said.
The MÜSIAD Trade Expo 2024 in Istanbul is targeting $1 billion in trade volume through business-to-business (B2B) meetings, according to the association.
The event will bring together businesspeople and investors from 88 countries, with attendees from over 300 participating firms operating in 24 different sectors forging new collaborations from Tuesday through Friday.
