IMF predicts growth in Turkey will remain strong

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it is expecting economic growth in Turkey, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Baltic countries to remain strong. The IMF published the "Regional Economic Issues" (REI) report, which assesses central, eastern and southeastern European (CESEE) economies, and highlighted that the growth models of the region's economies are gradually dissociating. According to the report, all countries that extend to the Baltics, including Turkey, are affected by external forces - geopolitical tensions, the effect of the recovery in the eurozone and the decrease in crude oil prices. Furthermore, while some countries still suffer from debt burdens along with supportive macroeconomic policies, without deep institutional reforms, some countries do not have any possibility to achieve growth. On the other hand, cheaper crude oil prices and the improvement observed in the economy of the eurozone supports growth in Baltic countries (Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia), CCE (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) and Turkey to remain strong. However, the permanent structural weaknesses and the incomplete private sector balance in southeastern Europe (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia) have prevented them from experiencing the full positive effects of these developments.