Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said yesterday that a 2.9 percent growth rate means that Turkey is stopping while unemployment is rising, adding that Turkey should not be content with any growth rate below 5 percent. The economy minister answered questions on a TV program, underlining that the new government incentive package will have a significant impact in reviving domestic demand. "This is an interactive incentive package, which can be tailored according to needs," said Zeybekci. "The package will support investments as of the investment date, and it will not be a burden on the Ministry of Finance, on the contrary, it will increase the income of the Ministry. He also said that the investment incentive rates have not been changed and the main incentive will contribute to the development process in the eastern and southern parts of Turkey." The government aims to reach 4 percent growth by the end of this year.On the current account deficit, Zeybekci said Turkey's problems were innovation, R&D activities and advanced technology. Only in 2014 have R&D income rates to national income reached 1 percent, a number that "was not enough," and should be around 2-2.5 percent by 2023. He added that incentives and the R&D budget should be used in areas where Turkey has an advantage.Zeybekci said that while Turkey is one of the top 10 countries in the world in terms of highest growth rate, the current growth rate is not sufficient to meet the 2023 targets, which aims at a 70-percent employment participation rate. The current labor force participation rate was announced as 50.2 percent by the Turkish Statistical Institute in March. He further said that the current account deficit ratio to gross domestic product will be 4 percent at the end of the year. However, the problem is no longer related with the current account deficit, but with growth. "If the growth in the first quarter is around 1.5 percent, then the year-end targets will be achieved. I don't think the growth rate estimations for 2015 should be decreased," said Zeybekci, before adding that he believes the growth rate and economic balance will be strong in 2015. Touching on export rates, the minister said that exports have decreased by 7 percent in the last three months, which was due to the parity and also the decrease in commodity prices.