During his speech at a meeting with local administrators Wednesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan indicated that the increase in the exchange rate has affected the whole market saying, "These are not the times to buy foreign currencies, but to sell them."

Addressing local representatives in the presidential complex, President Erdoğan repeated his call to decrease interest rates in order to improve the investment environment for investors and ease the pressure of foreign currency volatility, stressing that if investments can be maintained, 2017 can turn out to be a bright year.

President repeats his call on dollar

Erdoğan said that the whole market was disrupted by the increase in the exchange rate. Suggesting that speculating on the foreign exchange rate aims to cause disturbances, he said the currency level does not match the reality of the economy and stressed that it was not the time not to buy currencies, but rather to sell them.

In early December, the president called on Turkish citizens and investors to convert foreign currencies into Turkish lira to boost the value of the national currency. Citizens, trade institutions and some public entities immediately responded to his call, converting their foreign currency assets into lira. For instance, in a prompt response to Erdoğan's call, Borsa Istanbul (Istanbul Stock Exchange) converted all its reserve assets into lira. In a speech he delivered at the end of December, the president declared that Turkish citizens converted about $12 billion into lira.

Furthermore, Erdoğan also called on Turkey's major trade partners, Russia, Iran and China, to carry out trade transactions in local currencies. Russia's Central Bank responded positively, saying there were no bureaucratic hurdles to carry out trade in local currencies.

'Drop interest rates'

"They have been testing our resistance for a while, and they have seen that our fighting power and belief are very high and that our unity and solidarity will not be easily destroyed. This unity and solidarity destroyed their plans," President Erdoğan said, urging all citizens to act with what they have, produce, buy, sell and invest to revive the market.

Inviting all banks, particularly public banks, to drop interest rates, Erdoğan suggested that this troubled period will be overcome with production and that investors would expand their investments, providing employment.

'Attacks will not last forever'

Pointing out that the dynamics of the economy experienced fatigue due to successive attacks, President Erdoğan said that steps would be taken in the interrupted diplomatic relations with Iraq.

"Our exports have begun to recover. We entered a period in which the arrows indicate increases again," Erdoğan said, adding that from this season forward, tourism will start to rise again. "No crisis is sustainable. Attacks against our country will not last forever."

Stressing that the unemployment rate should not be given any chance and should rapidly decrease to single digits, Erdoğan repeated his call to drop interest rates and urged public banks, particularly the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, to act on it. According to Erdoğan, the problem is not a lack of money, but making money stable, and when everyone draws their money to the market, the problem will be solved. Inviting investors to take action, go to work and make investments for the country, Erdoğan said in the end, 2017 will turn into a very bright year.