Arvid Tuerkner, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) managing director for Turkey, said yesterday that Turkey is one of the largest countries they have been operating in and there are no plans of reducing investments to the country in anyway.

The 2017-2018 Transition Report prepared by the EBRD was introduced at the headquarters of the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (TÜSİAD) yesterday.

Speaking at the event, Tuerkner noted that the EBRD has been active in Turkey since 2009 and that the country has become the largest where the bank has come to have operations in a short time. Noting that they have invested 9.5 billion euros in Turkey up to now, he said that the bank's partners have also invested as much as 20 billion euros and that their portfolio now has 7 billion euros.

In response to a question of whether there is a negative change in the EBRD's Turkey program, he noted that Turkey is one of the largest countries where the bank operates.

"We are making very healthy investments. There are also large projects to be carried out toward the end of the year. We are extremely faithful to our commitments for Turkey. There are also projects to be finalized this year. We have very important investment plans," he said.

Tuerkner stated that investments have been distributed in different sectors such as finance, infrastructure, energy and agriculture, stressing that 97 percent of investments are aimed at the private sector. He stressed that EBRD is not an opportunistic investor.

"We are driven by demand but we are moving with a strategy. So, we look at the most critical areas needed for Turkey to move forward and turn into a sustainable market economy and direct our investments in these areas," the EBRD director said.

He stated that they are trying to make an impact in order to achieve this goal, stressing that they hope to benefit their customers as well as providing financing and funds. He recalled that they have been in Turkey to present the transition report, and that have prepared this report each year they in the countries where they have operations.

According to Tuerkner, the report addressed the difficulty of sustainable growth, especially the difficulties in maintaining the growth of countries where middle income prevails.

"How can this middle income be avoided? Because this phenomenon ensures growth and productivity with experiences at a certain level of income. This is closely related to Turkey. Turkey has achieved tremendous success in the past 15 years and has changed its growth model. This model was based on investment and was focused on the adaptation of technology in the past. But it has now included innovation and also the creation of new technologies. Turkey has already started this transformation," he said.

Stressing that one of the most outstanding points of this year's report is Turkey's path renewal program, Tuerkner defined the program as an extremely positive development due to its critical importance in bringing the country to global chains of values.

"We are all learning from each other's experiences," he added.

The EBRD Transition Report was presented by the bank's Research Director Ralph de Haas. Focusing on more than 30 countries in the transitional period in Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, the report addressed the relations between political and economic reforms and the development of democratic institutions with long-term economic growth.

The report focused on sustainable growth, referring especially to the experiences of middle income economies. Emphasizing that productivity growth in the income level of middle-income economies tend to slow down between one-third and two-thirds of the U.S. average, the report suggested that EBRD economies, which have consumed the advantages behind the strong growth performance of the past, should go beyond technology imports and switch to a new growth model based on innovation.

The Transition Report underscored the role of many small and relatively inefficient companies in the slowdown of the productivity increase in the EBRD region, highlighting that increasing import competition, ensuring access to the export market, and being included in the global chain of values are encouraging firms to boost productivity.

According to report estimates, infrastructure investments constitute about 40 percent of capital requirements. The report also emphasized that an investment of 1.9 trillion euros must be made in infrastructure in order to support the region's growth over the next five years, stating that sustainability policies must be strengthened and energy subsidies must be eliminated in order to fulfill the Paris climate agreement commitments.

The event was attended by TÜSİAD Board Member and Secretary-General Bahadır Kaleağası and EBRD Managing Director for Economics, Policy and Governance Mattia Romani.