Parliament’s Planning and Budget Committee Chairman Açıkalın: Turkey is becoming a safe port in the global economy

“Turkey, which wants more democracy and transparency, will strengthen its position as a safe port for the global economy and international investors,” Professor Açıkalın said, underlining that the party wouldn’t implement an “election economy” during the elections so as not to disrupt stability.

Their vision and goals are not just based on the duration of the government but on the 100th anniversary of the republic, which will be celebrated in 2023, Açıkalın, also a deputy for the AK Party from Sivas, said. He believes the Turkish people have confidence in the government and that the government has confidence in the Turkish people with respect to making Turkey one of the world’s 10 largest economies.

Despite negative propaganda, confidence has been increasing; Turkey was able go on without the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the midst of a global crisis, achieve success in the repatriation of foreign money and increase its credit rating during a period of crisis because of this confidence, Açıkalın explained.

The AK Party’s economic expert responded to questions from Today’s Zaman.

There are assessments that there is uncertainty about political stability. Is there such a risk?

Turkey is a politically active country. However, it’s important to understand this dynamism correctly. These assessments are made based on a potential referendum and election. When we look at the facts, we see that these are a precursor not to risks but to an even stronger stability. Just like contractions before labor are a precursor to a beautiful child and not an illness. It’s important to understand the essence of the issue and to evaluate these claims properly.

Then there is the notion that the risk of political instability will have a negative impact on the economy.

Actually, to the contrary, there is improvement. I don’t know if there will be a referendum or not. But everything is going well right now. Turkey wants to become more democratic and more transparent. Our people want their will to be dominant not only in Parliament but in every sphere of life. In other words they want democracy to be strengthened. The amendments to the constitution are completely aimed at meeting these demands. Of course, economic stability depends on political stability. There is still a very strong link between the two. This relationship weakens as the system becomes more established. If the necessary structures become systematic and institutionalized, political uncertainties will not affect the economy as much. In Turkey, there is still a very strong relationship between political stability and economic stability.

You use this relationship a lot to influence voters.

Even if we don’t point this out, people know it from experience. We are just reminding them. People on the street know that political instability will affect the economy. Of course the majority prefers stability. For the economy to be unaffected by politics, the system needs to develop and institutionalize. For this to happen, reforms and political stability must be strong for at least another term.

Are you heading for the homestretch?

We have a clear view of what lies ahead. You can consider it as the period in which uphill struggles will be overcome. When I said we need strong political stability for another period, I was referring to completing the strengthening trend in the economy, making stability unshakably systematic and sustaining it that way.

Will you take steps to alleviate concerns that the government is going to take decisions that will disrupt fiscal discipline before the elections?

There have been several elections, and we have never applied an election economy. If there is success today, it’s because of fiscal discipline. If we were only looking at the period up to the elections, then we could have made this mistake. But since we have forecasts for after the elections, since we predict becoming one of the top 10 economies in the world by 2023, we would not do anything that would jeopardize the future of this country. An election economy would make the AK Party look appealing, but it would be a pity for the country.

Will we really be able to see Turkey achieve the target of becoming one of the top 10 economies?

Looking at the signs, I have no doubt that we will. People will see Turkey become one of the world’s top 10 economies. The economy is truly in good condition. I am not saying this as someone from the AK Party. Confidence is important, stability is important. The confidence index is constantly increasing. The people have confidence in the country and its leaders, and the leaders have confidence in the people. Without this confidence we would not have obtained positive results from the capital repatriation policy we implemented for the first time. The capital repatriation policy was implemented for the first time during our term in office. We obtained a significant amount of resources. This is actually an expression of major confidence. This attracted attention not only from Turkish citizens but from those of other countries as well. There is a lot of interest in the Turkish economy’s dynamism. International liquidity is looking for calm ports. Old ports have lost their reliability. Turkey is standing out as a safe port.

There are assessments that repatriated capital will leave the country...

If a person is going to take his capital out, then there’s no point in him bringing it in the first place. They are bringing it to make it a part of the economy in Turkey. Otherwise, there is no reason for a person to bring it. Turkey is a safe port. Everyone has responsibilities. You have to understand the current situation correctly and paint the correct picture. If you publish groundless news that causes pessimism, then everyone pays for it. In this respect, the media also have a responsibility.

If negative comments were effective, could the stock market break so many records?

Very true. When negative comments have no basis, they have no effect, either. Both investors, namely both portfolio investors and direct investors, have confidence in Turkey. The rate of foreign investors in the stock market is higher than 66.5 percent. People invest in countries that have a strong economy and reliable bonds. Why would anyone invest in an unstable country? I think this trend will increase.

Isn’t direct investment at the desired level?

There will be a considerable increase in direct investment. When confidence and stability are further consolidated, the desired level will be reached quickly. A significant portion of the nation has a strong perception of what’s going on. Our people want a problem-free, strong democracy. We live in a democratic regime, and we have to follow the nation’s will whether we like it or not. Actually, this is sort of where the issue lies. Now we are overcoming this as well. Everyone is accepting the superiority of the national will. Turkey is going to become a brighter and shinier star. As it becomes one of the most profitable places to invest, direct investment will increase significantly.

Why aren’t the basic laws that investors are waiting for being introduced?

Unfortunately, there are some obstacles. As you know, we started discussing it in the General Assembly, but it was withdrawn after it encountered resistance from the opposition. Party competition and interests should not be against the country. This goes for everyone, including us and all other parties. The people realized this very quickly. Businessmen visited political parties and their leaders in Parliament asked them to put an end to this mistake. All the leaders gave a positive message.

It seems they don’t want it to be a success attributed to you...

These are basic laws that concern the economy, they don’t have anything to do with politics. If you prevent these measures from being implemented you will cause serious harm to the country, and the public will not forgive you for that. If you support it, the nation’s common sense will commend it. In this respect, the opposition’s contributions in Parliament are certainly valuable for us. Besides, without cooperation it seems technically impossible to make basic laws. We need to implement these measures quickly.

Did the businessmen’s request make your job easier? Do you think this time you will not have to withdraw it again?

Of course this is a step. But more steps need to follow. Maybe this request needs to be repeated a few more times. Everyone needs to contribute to developing the country. These are framework laws. If they are not introduced now, the country will lose another four years. That would really be a shame.

We are concentrating on removing the bureaucratic obstacles investors face

Pointing out that countries which take quick and effective decisions when emerging from the global crisis advance relatively more quickly than other countries, Professor Mustafa Açıkalın underlined that Turkey has not had to take such decisions. Noting that decisions such as those made by the US on supporting the real sector are not decisions Turkey can make quickly because of the bureaucracy and the stance of the opposition, Açıkalın said they are determined to remove the bureaucratic obstacles investors face.

Noting that the US, which felt the crisis intensely, had the fastest and most radical response to the crisis, Açıkalın said: “There you can transfer public resources to the automobile industry to prevent it from collapsing. When you do this in Turkey, you have to think about the criticism you will face. You would not be able to avoid debates and accusations of trying to ‘make certain people rich’.”

Reiterating that Turkey has lagged behind in competition because of the stance of the opposition, the parliamentary Planning and Budget Committee chairman said: “Privatization is another area in which we have lagged behind. Even though we started at the same time as other countries, we are still in the talking stage. We prepare it, it gets cancelled, it comes back to us, and we do it all over again. It is sad because this country’s values are being eroded. This is why constitutional and judicial reform is very important. We have groups that do not work efficiently. We need to incorporate them into the economy. We know the problem. We cannot tolerate wasting any more time. We are determined to eliminate the unnecessary procedures that local and international investors face. We need to open the way for our construction sector. ... We will concentrate on this in the new period.”